Essentially, spread betting allows you to speculate on the price movement of financial markets such as shares, currencies, commodities and indices. You can choose the size of your bet – also known as your stake – which dictates how much you stand to make or lose for every point that the market moves in your favour.

Most spread betting platforms offer a choice of investment markets, including equities, indices, commodities, FX pairs and interest rates. However, some spread betting companies have a focus on particular markets or asset classes and offer more competitive pricing on these markets than others.

Leading Spread Betting Brokers in the UK

Liquid markets are where there is a high volume of buy and sell orders, which enables trades to take place quickly and at low cost. These markets tend to be less volatile, meaning changes in supply & demand have a smaller impact on prices.

It’s important to find a provider that offers a range of trading assets, especially those that are most relevant to your interests and trading strategy. For example, if you’re interested in speculating on the price of a specific company then it makes sense to choose a broker that offers a broad selection of stocks.

Some spread betting providers offer a good selection of bonds for traders to try their luck at predicting whether long term interest rates will rise or fall. A good choice of government bonds from around the world will be offered, and some providers may include all the main categories such as UK gilts or US treasury bonds.