The Australian regulator has proposed an extension to its product intervention order banning the issue and distribution of binary options to retail clients, until 1 October 2031 or revocation.
The order came into effect on 3 May 2021 and will expire on 7 October 2022 unless it is extended.
ASIC imposed the ban on the sale of binary options to retail clients following its findings that binary options were likely to result in significant detriment to retail clients.
The Aussie watchdog’s analysis found that the ban has been effective in reducing the risk to retail clients resulting from binary options. According to the numbers, 13 months before the ban, between 74% and 77% of active retail clients lost money trading binary options, making net losses of $15.7 million compared with $1.7 million total net profits of profit-making retail client accounts.
