IG banning binary bets before crackdown but posts record leap

THE UK’s biggest spread-betting firm, IG Group, has banned new customers from controversial bets on currency and share movements over a matter of minutes as the financial watchdog readies a crackdown on the sector.

IG is taking action on “binary bets”, which have attracted unscrupulous operators and come under fire from the Financial Conduct Authority in its consultation on spread betting.

The watchdog’s shock proposals to protect consumers, revealed in December, have devastated the share prices of listed players, with IG’s shares down more than 30%.

IG’s binary bets generate £15 million a year in revenues. The firm’s director of investor relations Kieran McKinney said “a lot of bad providers” had given binaries a “bad name”. “Taking it away from the current clients feels like the wrong answer. All you do is drive those clients to another provider,” he said.

IG benefited from Brexit and Donald Trump’s election with record first-half revenues of £244.9 million in the year to November 30, up 14% on last year.

More volatility is likely before European elections this year, including a likely run for the French presidency by far-right Marine Le Pen.