If the name Binary.com is not familiar to you, it may be because you remember its predecessor, BetOnMarkets, better. The question is, has the name change and reworking made a difference, and if so is Binary.com better or worse? Unlike spread betting, they offer fixed odds bets on the financial markets or binary betting as they commonly referred to nowadays.
The company is owned by Regent Markets Group, and is registered in the Isle of Man and Malta. It is regulated by the gambling and gaming commissions in those countries.
With the name change comes a totally new website. As inferred from the name, this is a binary option betting company, and it allows users to bet on stocks, currencies, commodities, etc. Binary betting means that the returns and payouts are fixed just like when you place a flutter on a game of football with a normal bookie. Here is a screenshot that illustrates some of the features.
This is a live screen, and it gives you an idea of the range of products that you can bet on. Above the dealing screen, you can see the headings “Forex Indices Stocks Commodities Sectors Randoms”. There are generally quite a number of items to bet on in each category, although Commodities only includes gold, silver, and oil.
The last one, Random, is an interesting group which serves to emphasize the fact that binary betting is not the same as trading. To quote the site, “The Randoms are indices generated from random numbers.” There are a number of Randoms, including indices with varying degrees of the volatility, and random markets simulating bull and bear markets.
As you can see, the website is uncluttered and easy for novices and experts alike to use. Note that the payouts on “Rise/Fall” are based on “strictly higher” and “strictly lower” values, therefore if the price is unchanged no one (except binary.com) wins.
In addition to the Rise/Fall tab, there is Higher/Lower, which is similar in operation, Touch/No Touch and In/Out. These two cover the other options with binary betting, whether prices will reach or exceed certain levels within a period of time.
Below the dealing screen, you can see the headings “Chart Explanation Daily prices Intraday prices”. This decides what appears below the screen, if you scroll down from the current information. Chart gives you a price chart with selectable time periods, and Explanation is always there to give you a detailed account of how binary betting works. The two prices headings give you the specific numerical data referred to.
The website also includes full resources to teach beginners about binary betting, including offering webinars. There is a free £10,000 demonstration account available, allowing novices to practise before risking any of their own money. Overall, the site does a good job and can be recommended, no matter what your experience level.
At the moment, there is no mobile platform. This would put them at a severe disadvantage compared to other companies, so it is expected that binary.com will work rapidly to develop one.
Turning away from the trading platform, what can you expect from the company itself? BetonMarkets did not always get the best of comments, so it is reasonable to ask if the rebranding has resulted in a change of attitude. At the moment, Binary.com has not seem to have attracted much adverse criticism, so the jury is out on whether it is an improvement.
One factor which may help in improving the reputation is the number of withdrawal methods. Withdrawing winnings is often a cause of concern, and the basis of a number of complaints against brokers. In this case you can pay in and withdraw using Western Union, Neteller, Skrill, WebMoney, Liberty Reserve, FastPay, credit or debit card, or many other methods. They say that your withdrawal is processed within 24 working hours, but you should probably expect it to take up to a week. Mostly there is no charge for these methods.
With an intuitive interface, fast processing, and flexible money options, we rate Binary.com as worth a look for anyone who wants an uncomplicated binary betting provider.