Betfair, the online sports betting exchange, has launched a retail CFD and FX platform this week. It allows customers to trade rolling spot FX contracts and CFDs in equity indices, commodities, bonds and interest rates.
After FSA approval last month, Betfair says that the new platform, LMax, will transform retail trading. In the announcement this week, it says: “LMax provides the retail CFD and FX investor with a highly sophisticated but easy-to-use neutral platform that seeks to offer traders a fairer and more transparent alternative to competitors’ offerings. The platform is an exchange that brings together retail and institutional buyers and sellers in a wide variety of financial instruments on a level playing field. Through the exchange, LMax delivers customers fairness, transparency, neutrality and a more efficient and open way to trade. LMax also provides its customers with a community that allows them to share ideas, trading strategies and actively contribute in the development of the platform.”
The idea is that LMax will make available to retail traders facilities such as an open order book, access to institutional pricing, deeper liquidity, central clearing and the ability to set or take the price they want.