Court Forces Dutch Watchdog to Issue First Binary Options License

Dutch financial watchdog, Autoriteit Financiële Markten (“AFM”), issued the first Dutch binary options license today – the groundbreaking license was issued to Optieclub (Optionclub).

AFM issued the license under protest. On January 16, 2015, AFM already was summoned by the Rotterdam Administrative Court to issues a license to Optieclub. When it refused, the lawyers of Optieclub: Bas Jongmans (Gaming Legal Group) and Hester Bais (BAIS Legal) successfully requested a preliminary injunction.

To prevent a second request for a preliminary injunction, imposing penalties on AFM, the financial watchdog caved in and awarded Optieclub with a license. AFM was served to appear in civil court on April 7, 2015.

In light of earlier developments, it was doubtful if AFM would actually issue a license. However, in AFM’s statement today, AFM states that the offering of binary options is illegal since binary options should be regarded as illegal games of chance. AFM has since not been successful in convincing the courts.

The Rotterdam Administrative Court as well as the CBB Appeals Court ruled that AFM should immediately issue a license to Optieclub. Optieclub could no longer be expected to wait for its license, pending further litigation on the matter.

The issuance of the license today marks an important step in the development of Regulation Regulation Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Read this Term of binary options as financial instruments within the Netherlands, since with this issuance, AFM has confirmed that binary options shall be regulated by AFM in the Netherlands and as a result, license holders will be allowed to enter the European market, using a “European Passport”.