Quebec Set to ban binary options (sign of things to come?)

BryanMac

Quebec’s financial regulatory body, the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF), said on Wednesday it has proposed the formal prohibition of the sale of binary options to citizens in the province. This makes Quebec the first province in Canada to officially consider the ban on such instruments.

“The Authority is concerned by the growing number of complaints received regarding the trading of products commonly called “binary options”, whichare offered illegally to retail customers in Quebec via unauthorized on-line trading platforms,” the Quebec watchdog said in a notice.

The AMF is working on a draft project with which it would amend the derivatives regulation. The draft also offers other measures concerning the identification of hedgers and the delivery of financial statements.


Full article below, but 2017 is looking like the year we see some actual action.

https://smnweekly.com/2017/02/02/quebec-set-to-become-first-canadian-province-to-ban-binary-options/

The_Geek_MH

Well, if they would get off their ass and actually allow a legit broker to operate then they could cut down on the scams. It's working in the EU, and it's working in the US. Canada used to allow NADEX, they should do it again.

BryanMac

Honestly NADEX IMO is crap cause the risk to reward is out of hand you can watch a trade and at for example 13:01 its 78% payout you hit buy at 13:02 its 48% payout, If the us would adopt overseas style binary on an exchange basis it would work. But it would take tons of cash to set it up and right now its all in favor of broker,

TobiasRobinson

The issue with banning binary options is that to ban them, you first need to accurately define them. This is harder than it sounds without impacting other forms of investment (that they won't want to ban). Binaries evolved from the markets themselves and a desire to trade them.

I dont know a regulator that understands binaries well enough to define them absolutely. So what will they ban? Anything called "binary options" - leaving everything else open?! I first suggested this as a joke - but then IG Group renamed their binaries to "Digital 100s". They are still binary options, but now called something different. Enough to fool the regulators? Who knows....