Israeli Watchdog Reportedly Bans Binary Options to All Clients

A major escalation in the Israeli watchdog's attack on binary options trading in the country has just been revealed. After it was already expected that the Israeli Securities Authority (ISA) will severely limit access to binary options, it now seems the ISA will ban the instrument completely.

Last year the ISA was reportedly planning to restrict access to binary options except for “sophisticated investors,” thus making it out of reach for the vast majority of Israeli traders. The ISA regulations on Trading Arenas (as it refers to online brokers) define a sophisticated investor as a client that has consented in advance that he is one, has a net financial worth of over NIS 12 million ($3.1 million) and trades over NIS 10 million ($2.6 million) a month.

However, according to the Israeli business newspaper Globes, a source from the ISA now says that binary options trading will be banned for all clients. The popular simplified trading tool will be prohibited from all regulated Israeli trading arenas (as the law refers to online brokers) because “due to their characteristics the service is essentially similar to gambling games. The ISA thinks that continued binary options activity will hurt not just all clients (including sophisticated investors) but the reputation of the entire market.”