Regulatory Update – The Shifting Sands Of Binary Options Regulation In The Land Down Under

Australian Binary Options Regulatory Update

Binary options regulation is spreading around the world. Brokers are now regulated in several places around the world and now Australia is getting into the fray. To date, only a small number of brokers are regulated in Australia but according to authorities, this is not stopping the growing number of retail traders from entering the market, or from choosing a non-regulated broker. As with other world powers, Australia’s centralized Securities and Investments Commission, ASIC, oversees regulation in the financial services industry including Forex and now binary. It is possible for new binary brokers to gain regulatory approval from the agency but the trend to date is for currently licensed Forex providers to open binary brands. This is because those Forex brokers currently holding an ASIC license are able to provide binary trading under the same without any additional requirements.

Brokers Operating Heavily in Australia

There are currently only a small handful of big names operating licensed binary options brokers in Australia, including most of our trusted brokers. PowerOption for one highlights a growing debate among industry professionals: Should Forex brokers offer binary alongside Forex as part of existing platforms or should they operate binary independently under separate brands. PowerOption is the binary options arm of respected Forex broker AvaTrade. They followed the example of another leading Forex provider, Markets.com, who opened binary brand TopOption. GoOptions is the latest broker to be spun off an existing Forex provider and one that offers trading through MT4 as well as standard web based trading.

Perhaps the most well known broker in Australia is IGMarkets. This is a UK based company and parent of the more well known US based NADEX binary options exchange. IGMarkets offers CFD’s, similar too, but not quite like, traditional binary. Other binary brokers include brands like MXT Markets and HighLow Trading.

Is Binary Options a Financial Product?

Another debate is whether binary should even be treated as a financial product in Australia. As it stands now they are, and are regulated by ASIC on a national level. This means one standard for all to follow. If the status of binary was changed to that of a gaming instrument, as some insiders would like to see, regulation would change from the centralized ASIC to one of 8 territorial gaming commissions in the country. Regardless of the outcome it is obvious that Binary Options is established in Australia and that Australians are trading binary options.