GTOptions

GTOptions is a brand owned and operated by MJ VENTs LTD, located at OPS Center Bulgaria, Office #6951175, BGN. We don’t have any information about this company. Zero, Nada, Zilch! So take care if you want to deal with them. GTOptions is not regulated.

Is GTOptions a Scam?

This broker is not regulated but as we talked many times before, regulation doesn’t automatically mean you will never have problems with a broker. So, although GTOptions are not yet regulated, they are in the process and judging by the way they are conducting their business so far, they will probably get the regulation sooner or later. At the moment everything seems fine with an exception of a few complaints, BOTS team will keep monitoring and update this review if any special developments take place.

Update March 2017: Lots of people seem to think that GTOptions is indeed a scam but I cannot give an “official” verdict of scam. What I can tell you is that you should be extra careful with your money around this brokerage. We don’t have information about the owning company and of course, there’s no regulation so you don’t really have anyone to complain to if you get scammed. On top of that, their web traffic tells an alarming story: they went from 75K visits in September 2016 (which is pretty low) to 14K visits in February 2017. This type of drop in traffic is not a good sign to say the least; in fact, it’s quite worrying.

Editor’s Note – Why GTOptions doesn’t Suck in 50 Words?

Although in the past this binary options platform had its share of complaints regarding their practices (… but who doesn’t?), lately they have shown clear improvement of their service. The client has 49 ways of depositing money, the ability to trade Pairs and Ladder options (which is a great plus compared to only having Up/Down) and an almost flawless SpotOption 2.0 platform. I think it’s OK to say  GTOptions learned from past mistakes and came back better than before. Time will tell.

Update March 2017: Honestly, now it’s very hard to find a reason why GTOptions doesn’t suck. Bad user reviews left and right, horror stories about failed withdrawals and disappearing money. Sorry, I give up because I can’t find a solid reason why they don’t suck.

Why GTOptions Sucks?

The Bonus sucks again. GTOptions will give you a bonus up to 100% and on top of that, the required turnover is (deposit + bonus) x 20. Simple math makes us understand that in order to withdraw you have to trade 40 times the bonus: $1000 deposit + $1000 bonus = $2000. To withdraw you need $40,000 trading volume which is 40 times the $1000 bonus. There’s a simple solution though: don’t accept such a high bonus. Important Notice: GTOptions no longer accept US clients. Update Jan 2016: the turnover required for the bonus is now 30 times (deposit + bonus)… so it sucks even more.

Update March 2017: GTOptions Sucks big time and I don’t think you’ll find someone to tell you differently… unless they are working for GTOptions in one way or another. “Welcome to GTOptions. The Best Binary Options Broker” That’s written in big letters, right on their homepage. The Best… when everybody screams “Scam” all over the internet. Really? Oh and their slogan is “The most trusted binary broker”. Really? By who and by what standards? And let’s not forget that I can’t even find basic information about the owning company but I should trust them. Why?

Oh and something else: clients have to reach a certain trading volume requirement before they can withdraw any profits. I’ve never encountered a brokerage with such a requirement and I hope I never will again (please read section GTOptions Withdrawal below).

Should I Open an Account with GTOptions?

Even from the first glance I could easily see we are dealing with a company who pays attention to details and cares about the client’s first impression. Since we are trading in the online environment, the broker’s website is their office and just how I wouldn’t do business with a Bank that forgot to paint the walls of its office, I wouldn’t trust with my money a brokerage firm that doesn’t have a professional looking website. Fortunately that’s not the case with GTOptions and everything is where it should be… and most of the stuff works as it’s supposed to.

GTOptions offers three types of accounts, each suited to the customer’s different needs: the Mini account is best used by the new trader who is just trying to get a feel of the market; the Classic account is for the serious investor and of course the Gold account suits an experienced professional who knows how to deal with the market’s turmoil. Update July 2015: the Classic account is no longer available and the Gold account requires a $5,000 minimum deposit Some sections of their website still list the Classic account as available but there is no information about the deposit requirements for such an account. A chat with one of their representatives would probably give you more information. Update Jan 2016: The Classic account is available again but the minimum deposit for this type of account is not specified.

A lot of tutorials and videos are available for free on their website but for some of the advanced lessons you will have to open and fund an account. As part of their Education material, GTOptions offer a free e-book and a Demo account; however, the Demo is only available if you deposit but it’s still better than not having a demo at all. Overall the “verdict” is neutral: some of you might find some great features at GTOptions and others will not be that impressed with this brokerage. Since they’ve been founded, they have had periods when their reputation improved and their client base increased but also periods when their clients took to the online forums, urging others to stay away.

Update March 2017: The website is clunky and many links are broken (returning a 404 error or simply redirecting you to the main page). Live Chat is offline almost all of the time and the change of owning company did not help with their overall trustworthiness. Right now GTOptions is in a bad spot and we recommend you find another broker.

GTOptions Complaints

If you can find a broker without complaints, please let us know but I have serious doubts that you can. Of course, I am talking about companies which actually have clients, not overnight brokerages which are too “green” to have any complaints on the internet. It is true that GTOptions has some unsatisfied customers, but we all know how it is: trader loses money in the market and then starts crying the broker scammed him. Or the trader thinks the bonus is a free lunch and doesn’t bother reading the Terms and Conditions; then he is angry with the broker but in fact the broker is not to blame in all cases. So yes, GTOptions has complaints on the internet but nothing serious or extremely worrying. Notice! Please see update below!

We felt the need to update this section because lately people complain about not being able to get their money out or having to go through a lot of hassle to do so. It seems that during the latest period, a positive review is hard to find. Just read what Teske has to say on our Customer Review page and check out Juan’s reply. The Comments section of this review page is also full of people warning others not to deposit with GTOptions and users on Forexpeacearmy.com say the same thing (http://www.forexpeacearmy.com/public/review/www.GToptions.com). Sure, there are people who claim that everything is fine and their money are easily returned, but… I don’t know if we should trust all the guys who praise GTOptions. Most of their writings have that fake testimonial feel to them…

Update Jan 2016: Complaints keep piling up and the number of negative reviews increases on our website and on many others. It is safe to say that GTOptions doesn’t have a stellar reputation among binary options traders.

Update March 2017: More complains, more horror stories about almost everything you can think of, more and more unsatisfied customers. I am sorry for repeating the word “more”, but that’s the only word I can think of when it comes to GTOptions complaints. Everywhere you look you will find complaints about this brokerage. Better learn from the mistakes of others and stay away.

GTOptions Regulatory Warnings And Announcements

13.12.2016: The Cyprus Securities And Exchange Commission (CySEC) issued a list of domains, warning that GTOptions (among many others contained in the list) is not owned or operated by a regulated Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF). The CySEC advises caution when dealing with unregulated entities. Source: CySEC Announcement.

07.09.2015: The French regulator Authorite Des Marches Financiers (AMF) warned that a number of binary options brokerages, including GTOptions, are conducting aggressive internet marketing and advised investors against dealing with them. The AMF also noted that the entities are not authorised to offer binary options trading or other type of investment advice. Source: AMF News Release.

GTOptions Bonus

The Bonus can go up as high as 100% of your initial deposit but a 50% bonus is mentioned several times on the website as well. The trading volume required before a withdrawal can be made is pretty high though: (deposit + bonus) x 20. To avoid any hassle, it would be best if you didn’t accept such a high bonus, but if you do, make sure you know the terms and conditions that come with it. Update Jan 2016: the turnover is now (deposit + bonus) x 30 so it will be even more difficult to achieve. In some places of their website a 40 times turnover is mentioned and in others, they talk about 20 times… confusing to say the least.

Update March 2017: It looks like they’ve settled on a turnover of (deposit + bonus)*30. This volume must be reached before you can withdraw the bonus.

GTOptions Withdrawal

As usual, identification documents must be provided by the client and a time of up to 3 business days will pass until GTOptions processes the request. Additional time will pass until the money will reach the client. Withdrawals can be made using the major credit cards, wire transfers (this method incurs a $25 fee) and MoneyBookers.

Update March 2017: This is a first: to withdraw your profits, you will need to reach a certain trading volume (similar to the Bonus)!!! I have never heard of such a requirement before and I consider it a deal breaker, something that would make me stay away from this brokerage without taking into consideration anything else. On their Terms and Conditions, section 11, it clearly says that you will have to reach a turnover of (deposit + bonus)*40 before you can withdraw any profits (wow, that’s higher than the bonus).

GTOptions Extras

On most Binary Options platforms I see that an Economic Calendar is missing and I was glad to see this is not the case for GTOptions. Although it might sound like something not so important, you would be surprised to see how important it actually is. Sure, economic calendars are available in many places but why go look somewhere else when you can have it right on your platform.

GTOptions Ratings

User Friendly 15/20

The website is translated in 6 languages, it has a lot of tutorials and well structured information, Demo accounts are available, US customers are accepted and the new SpotOption platform works almost flawlessly. Update Jan 2016: US customers are no longer accepted and some of the information is hard to locate.

Number of assets and expiry times 17/20

Their platform includes 14 currency pairs, 27 stocks, 24 indices, 7 commodities and 7 Pairs so a trader has enough choices when it comes to tradable assets. Expiries are the usual, ranging from 60 seconds to end of day but also long term options which expire at the end of the year. One touch trading is available for weekends.

Commissions, Support and Effective return 12/20

There’s a $25 fee for wire transfer withdrawals, opening an account is of course, free. Other than that, we couldn’t find any hidden or unusual fees but we recommend reading the T&C. Their support is pretty fast to respond and once they do, their representatives are generally polite and helpful. The returns however are not their strongest point, ranging between 65%-85% but I guess it’s better to be honest about it rather than claim a 90% return which is in fact available on just one or two assets (it’s a practice well known among low rated brokers). Some “out of the money” trades will receive a refund up to 10%.

Update March 2017: Live Chat support is no longer available or at least it was offline on three different working days (mid-day, GMT time). When trying to have a chat with their representatives, I got the option to send them an email, saying that support is offline. There is no mention of a 10% refund for OTM trades anymore.

Deposit, Payment and Bonus 12/20

The minimum deposit is $250 and can be made using lots of methods, including of course the usual Credit/Debit Card and wire transfers but the majority is represented by e-wallets and for a complete list you will have to check gtoptions.com. Withdrawals (minimum is $100) are pretty quick and don’t incur huge fees (see Withdrawals section above) but the bonus which can be 50% and even 100% has a high turnover requirement so we recommend not taking such a high bonus.

Update March 2017: In order to withdraw profits from an account, the client will need to reach a required turnover of (deposit + bonus)*40. See GTOptions Terms and Conditions for more information.

Website Extras 13/20

Economic Calendar, new SpotOption Platform and Pairs trading represent positive extras which we would like to see on more and more Binary Options platforms. Lots of deposit methods is also a nice extra.

GTOptions Overall Ratings = 69/100