IG Markets Summary

🗺️ Tier 1 Regulation UK (FCA), Germany (BaFin)
💱 Trading Fees Medium Spreads  (EUR/USD From 0.85)
📊 Spread Bet Platforms MT4, IG Trading Platform
💰 Minimum Deposit £0
💰 Funding Costs Free
💳 Funding Methods Debit card, Credit card, Bank Transfer
🛍️ Markets Available Forex, Commodities, Stocks, Indices, ETFs, Bonds, Options

My Take on Spread Betting With IG

I think IG Markets is an excellent all-rounder for spread betting, offering some of the best services in the industry. While using IG, I experienced fast execution speeds and competitive spreads from 0.60 pips, with no slippage or price rejections. As well as this, the 17,000 markets is the largest range in the spread betting industry.

The broker offers a solid selection of platforms, each providing advanced charting. MT4 and ProReal Time offer automated trading for spread betting, which is a bonus.

With low minimum deposits, solid customer support, tight spreads, and excellent trading conditions, I think IG Markets is one of the best spread betting brokers out there, and will fit most traders’ requirements.

IG Markets Pros and Cons

Pros
  • Largest range of 17,000 spread betting markets
  • Excellent trading conditions and platforms
  • Decent education and research tools available
Cons
  • MT4 can't access the full market range
  • Doesn't offer TradingView
  • Customer support out-of-hours can be slower

Visit IG

68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.


Our Rating

The overall rating is based on review by our experts

86
Trading Costs
8 / 10
Trading Experience
7 / 10
Trading Platform
8 / 10
Trust
10 / 10
Range of Markets
10 / 10
Customer Service
7 / 10

FAQs

Spread betting on IG allows you to speculate on the price movements of financial markets without owning the underlying market (known as derivatives and similar to CFD trading). You place a bet per point of movement on whether an asset’s price will rise or fall, allowing you to profit from rising and falling markets.

Profits are tax-free in the UK, so you do not pay capital gains tax or stamp duty, one of the major benefits of spread betting. IG is a top choice broker, offering spread betting on over 17,000 markets, including forex trading, shares, indices and commodities.

IG offers tiered leverage on spread betting, with ratios ranging from 2:1 to 30:1 for retail traders, depending on the asset. This allows you to gain full market exposure with a small deposit (margin requirement).

For example, with 10:1 leverage, you’d only need to deposit 10% of the total trade value, allowing you to start trading with small funds compared to traditional investing. Higher leverage is available for professional clients, but you must meet the FCA’s requirements before gaining this status, and there is a significant risk of losing money rapidly here.

Spread betting works by speculating on price movements without owning the underlying asset. You “buy” (go long) if you think the market price will rise or “sell” (go short) if you think it will fall. Your profit or loss is calculated by multiplying your stake per point by the number of points the market moved. So if the market rose by 10 points and you bet £1 per point, you’d have profited £10.

View our spread betting guide to learn more about this form of trading.

The minimum and maximum trade sizes for IG Markets spread betting vary for each asset. For forex major pairs, the maximum bet size is £500 per point, and the minimum is 0.50p per point. Meanwhile, for index markets, it can be as high as £3,500 per point for the US 500, and 0.50p is the minimum bet size.

IG does not explicitly state minimum and maximum trade sizes for spread betting in the provided information. However, spread betting typically allows flexible position sizing, with minimum bets often as low as £0.50 or £1 per point. Maximum sizes would likely depend on the specific market and your account type/balance.

Yes, IG offers a free demo spread betting account that gives you access to £10,000 in virtual funds to practice risk-free trading. Here, you can learn how to use the platform without fear of making mistakes, such as familiarising yourself with the deal ticket and bet size. Existing IG clients can access a demo account from their My IG dashboard on the desktop or the ‘accounts’ section of the mobile app.

About IG Group

IG Group is a worldwide global leader in online multi-asset trading headquartered in the City of London, UK. IG clients and possible customers can reach the UK-based broker at its head office address: Cannon Bridge House 25 Dowgate Hill London EC4R 2YA. The company is also listed on the London Stock Exchange LSE and is included in the FTSE 250 Index.

IG Markets Spread Betting

IG is truly an international broker with over 45 years of experience in the financial markets. For our IG Markets Review, we assessed if the brand can serve clients from around the world. Our team of industry experts found that IG has a remarkable global presence through its 16 offices (including UK, USA, Australia, Singapore and Europe) spread all around the globe and across five continents.

Spread Bets vs Trading CFDs

If you’re considering spread betting and having the option to trade at the same time CFDs, IG Markets is among the few online brokers offering both leveraged products.

IG clients can open spread bets for CFD trading in both market directions (long and short) across more than 16,000 financial instruments. The most popular markets that can be traded with CFD accounts include currency pairs, shares, cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Ethereum), ETFs, and much more.

Largest Retail Foreign Exchange Brokers

Learn more about our review methodology.

IG Markets Alternatives

About the author:

Justin Grossbard

With a background in trading and investing that spans over 20 years, Justin co-founded Spread-Bet.co.uk. He has a Masters in Business and has contributed to leading finance sites including Forbes, Kiplinger to Finance Magnates.

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Malcolm T.
Malcolm T.
1 year ago

How does IG Markets’ platform perform for spread betting?

Noam Korbl
Spread Bet Expert
Noam Korbl
1 year ago

IG Markets’ platform is highly regarded for its performance and features, making it a strong choice for spread betting.

Hugh P.
Hugh P.
1 year ago

Are IG Markets’ spreads competitive compared to other brokers?

Noam Korbl
Spread Bet Expert
Noam Korbl
1 year ago

Yes, IG Markets offers competitive spreads, especially on forex and major indices.

Keith T.
Keith T.
7 months ago

Are there any extra costs with IG? Like overnight financing charges?

David Levy
Spread Bet Expert
David Levy
7 months ago

Unless you are using a swap-free account, all spread bet providers in the UK have overnight financing charges.