If you’re located in the European Union and looking for a binary options broker, here’s the straight answer: you’re probably not going to find one. Not a legal one, at least.
Binary options have been banned for retail traders across the EU since 2018, following a ruling by ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority). The decision was clear: too risky, too opaque, too easily abused. And that ban hasn’t been lifted.
So if you’re in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, or any other EU member state, you won’t find any regulated broker offering traditional fixed-return binary options. You might see platforms offering “digital options,” “turbo options,” or other products that look similar—but they’re either modified to meet EU rules, or offered illegally from offshore.
Let’s break down what’s still possible, what’s off the table, and what to absolutely avoid.
Why Binary Options Are Banned in the EU
The ESMA ban was introduced after years of abuse by both regulated and unregulated brokers. Key issues:
- Conflicts of interest: Many brokers were counterparty to the trade—they profited when you lost
- Aggressive marketing: Promises of guaranteed profits, fake testimonials, and shady “account managers”
- Poor transparency: Retail traders didn’t understand the risk
- Unfair trading conditions: Manipulated expiry times, price feeds, or payouts
- Massive losses: A huge percentage of retail traders were losing money consistently
So, the regulators shut it down.
As of now, no EU-based broker is legally allowed to offer binary options to retail clients. That includes brokers licensed by CySEC (Cyprus), FCA (UK, pre-Brexit), BaFin (Germany), and all other EU regulators.
What You Can Still Trade in the EU
While binary options are banned, there are similar instruments that are still allowed under tighter rules:
1. Options via Regulated Brokers
Some brokers offer vanilla options or turbo certificates, which allow directional trading with fixed risk—but they’re more complex, and payouts vary.
2. CFDs (Contracts for Difference)
Most EU traders now use CFDs to trade forex, indices, commodities, or stocks. These aren’t fixed-return bets like binaries, but you can set tight stop-losses and trade small timeframes.
3. Derivatives via Exchanges
Professional traders can access options and short-term contracts through platforms like IG, Saxo Bank, or Interactive Brokers—but again, these are not binaries, and access requires higher capital and knowledge.
4. Binary-style trading via offshore brokers
Some EU traders bypass the ban by signing up with offshore binary options brokers using a VPN or by choosing platforms that don’t enforce region blocks.
This isn’t legal, and if something goes wrong—funds frozen, trades reversed, account shut—you have no protection.
Offshore Binary Brokers Accepting EU Traders
While no EU-regulated broker offers binaries, many offshore platforms do. They don’t care where you live—they just want your deposit. These include:
- Quotex
- Pocket Option
- Deriv (via its offshore entity)
- Spectre.ai
- RaceOption / BinaryCent
These brokers are not licensed in the EU and don’t follow EU consumer protection rules. You can access them, deposit, and trade—but at your own risk.
For a side-by-side look at which brokers accept EU users, offer demo accounts, and support crypto or e-wallet payments, visit our binary options brokers page.
What to Avoid
If you’re based in the EU, be extra cautious about brokers that:
- Claim to be “regulated in Europe” but are actually offshore
- Offer bonuses or “risk-free trades”
- Require crypto-only deposits
- Hide terms and conditions
- Have no withdrawal policy or delay payouts without reason
- Push automated trading systems or bots with guaranteed profits
Also avoid any site that claims the ESMA ban has been lifted. It hasn’t.
What If You’re a Professional Trader?
There’s a loophole. If you qualify as a professional client under MiFID II rules, some brokers may allow you to access riskier instruments, including structured products similar to binaries.
To qualify, you must meet at least two of the following:
- Significant trading volume over the past year
- Portfolio of €500,000+
- Professional experience in financial services
This is rare for retail traders, and it involves waiving many protections. Still, it exists.
Final Word
If you live in the EU and want to trade binary options, your legal options are zero—unless you go offshore, which carries risk and no consumer protection. Most brokers with an EU license have dropped binaries entirely and shifted to CFDs, forex, or longer-term derivatives.
If you’re considering trading with an offshore broker anyway, know the risk, start small, and withdraw early to test reliability.
For a deeper look at brokers currently accepting EU clients—and how they operate—visit the binary options brokers comparison page. It’s kept current and stripped of marketing fluff.