Binary options – FCA announces potential changes in regulation
The FCA has published a web page and announced potential changes to the binary options regulatory regime in the UK.
Binary options allow consumers to speculate on the short term movement in the price of financial instruments such as shares. At the moment the UK Gambling Commission regulates binary options but only if the firm has remote gambling equipment located in Britain.
However, the UK Government is consulting on proposals to treat binary options as a financial rather than a gambling product. The consultation closed on 18 June 2015 and the results are yet to be announced by the Government.
Legal Law Limited has been campaigning for a swift change in the UK regulatory environment so that binary options will be regulated by the FCA rather than the UK Gambling Commission.