The recent boom in the number of spread-betters is not down to technological improvements alone. Over the past two months the explosive nature of the markets has led to a huge increase in day-trading (the practice of quick buying and selling) by investors who believe that quick profits can be made on fast and volatile price movements.boom

Spread-betting is ideally placed for day-traders as it is not only quick and easy to sell or buy, but it has the added advantages over traditional methods in that margin requirements are much lower, and in some circumstances bets can be placed even when the underlying market is closed. For example, as an investor one can trade the cash price of FTSE for an hour before the market officially opens at 8.00am and, as soon as it closes at 4.30pm one can start trading its closing price for the following day. Similarly for Wall Street, if one has a view on how the index might perform later in the day on does not have to wait until it opens at 2.30pm as trading on all Wall Street index markets starts at 7.00am. Spread-betting had the reputation of being suitable only for City traders with pockets deep enough to fund what was perceived as a volatile pastime. However, that image is a thing of the past as the spread-betting companies strive to tap into the private investor market that is more receptive to alternative investment methods than ever before.