The FCA's statement was a major announcement in the world of CFD (and binary) sites. However, any new regulation will have to ensure legal operators remain attractive to punters.
The Financial Conduct Authority's investigation into Plus500 doesn't prevent the financial trading operator from recruiting UK customers, but through its Cyprus licence thanks to the regulatory passporting it benefits from under the EU's MiFID rules. As a result further regulatory interest into the workings of the financial trading and betting sector is almost certain, writes Scott Longley.
Playtech moved in quickly to snap up Plus500, describing it as "a unique opportunity", and is now a major player in the financial trading space. Much is made of the blurring of lines between trading and gambling, but both Playtech and Plus500 still very much operate on igaming metrics.
Playtech has been talking up the opportunities offered by forex and binary trading since its acquisition of financial trading platform TradeFX as it looks to roll out trading and financial betting products to its licensees. But what does the sector think of a vertical that can be as volatile as it can be profitable?
The next 12 months and the implementation, or not, of new regulations, will define much of the Spanish igaming industry's future, write Albert Agustinoy and Elisa Lorenzo of DLA Piper Spain.
