1970s : 1980s : 1990s : The Future
2000 and onwards - What and Where Next For Spread Betting?
The penetration of the Spread Betting companies is most probably complete. It is unlikely that there is a completely new batch of clients ready to tap into, so in the first decade of the 21st century the financial spread betting companies are likely to concentrate on innovation of products and services.
One of the major advantages that the spread betting companies have over the more traditional firms in the financial markets is that they can offer new products or variations on established products very quickly. Because their products are so called Over-The-Counter (OTC) they don't have to go through the regularity process that major Exchanges do. All financial spread betting companies are however fully regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
Spread Betting Offers Incredible Flexibility
In the cash stock market it is all very black and white, all you can do is to buy or sell. But the financial spread betting companies are and will be offering new products to trade a far wider spectrum of possible outcomes. The recent introduction of Binary Bets is a good example of this, offering a simple market in whether a stock or index will close up or down for the day or week etc.
Another example of innovative new products would be to take a simple short term bullish view on Vodafone. Financial spread betting companies can now offer their clients a menu of different products to trade any type of view on this stock. But new and prospective clients should not be put off from the choice of bets because websites like this will give you all the training and education you need to fully understand how to operate in the financial spread betting world.
The other area of growth for the financial spread betting companies is likely to be well known markets that aren't easily tradable, such as property or weather. Spread betting clients are now able to speculate on the future direction of residential property, and in some cases they have been hedging their exposure of part or all of their existing homes. It's easily done with spread bets.
Whatever they offer there's no doubt that the financial spread betting companies will be at the forefront of development and change within the financial markets, offering incredible choice and flexibility to their legion of customers.
