Spread Betting Slippage Explained

Spread betting slippage is the difference, in points, between the level a trader asked for and the level at which the bet was filled. Market orders and ordinary stops fill away from the requested level when the price moves before the broker fills them, and a limit order cannot fill worse. Because a spread bet pays your stake per point, each point of slippage changes the result by one stake.

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Which Orders Can Slip?

Market orders and ordinary stop-loss orders can both slip. A market order fills at the price available when the broker executes it, which can differ from the price when you sent it. FXCM’s UK help page, read 22 Sep 2026, says of ordinary stops: “Stop Orders guarantee execution, but not a particular price.” An ordinary stop caught in a gap fills at the first available price, which a weekend reopening or a jump on news can leave some distance from the last one.

A limit order is the exception, because it fills only at its level or better, though it may not fill at all if the price never reaches that level. Our guide covers how a spread bet works from stake to close. Some order types fix the level at which a bet closes, and that is where reducing slippage begins.

How To Reduce Slippage

A guaranteed stop-loss order closes the bet at exactly its stop level, gaps included, for a premium, and a limit order cannot fill worse than its level. Guaranteed stop availability on the spread betting account was read from each provider’s own published terms, last checked 22 Sep 2026. Of the 14 ranked brokers, eight offer guaranteed stops, five do not, while for one the published spread betting terms do not say whether its spread betting account carries one. The size of the premium and when it is charged differ from broker to broker, and the guide’s stop-loss section sets out how brokers charge for guaranteed stops. Bear in mind that a guaranteed stop fixes the exit level only, and the loss up to that level is still a loss.

The same brokers appear in the ranking of spread betting platforms, where each carries an overall score out of 100 built from six criterion marks. Every broker in the table above has a full write-up in our spread betting broker reviews directory.

Slippage FAQs