Binary Option Legality in SA

Binary options trading is legal in Southern Africa. There is no law that states that it is illegal. In fact, at this moment there is actually no law at all that refers to online investing. This means that traders can do as they please in this regard.

Register with a binary options brokers that accept South African traders, deposit real money and withdraw the money they have won. This is perfectly legal and safe to do. There will be no legal consequences for traders trading with options brokers.

But the South African binary options market is not regulated. Which means that companies located in the country are not allowed to offer financial trading services. A company cannot offer services that are not officially recognized in a country.

Due to that, there are no genuine South African binary options brokers yet. Fortunately, there are multiple companies located outside of the country, which are able to access the South African market. These companies are legally allowed to offer options trading services to clients in the country.

South Africa’s Financial Services Board does not at this time  offer licensing for brokers to offer binary options trading to South Africans. Thus, any broker claiming to be within the country is likely fraudulent. Instead, investors should strive to find brokers whom have proper licensing from other regulatory bodies such as CySEC (Cyprus Security and Exchange Commission) in Cyprus, or the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) in the UK. Brokers registered and licensed by these agencies have to comply with strict guidelines. They are allowed to offer trading services to South African traders and are generally perceived as very reliable among investors.

Until South African authorities decide to regulate the online financial betting sector, traders will have to continue seeking trading accounts from offshore brokers. Although regulations from South Africa would technically offer the utmost security to traders, foreign brokers licensed in other jurisdictions are currently the best choice for South Africans.