If you are new to spread betting then selecting from all the spread betting companies can seem quite daunting. Don't panic, once you know what you want it should make going through them a lot easier. It may take a little time but once you have done the work you can relax.
You will see that some
spread betting companies will offer sports as well as financial trading. It is important that you know what you want so you know if the firm will be able to offer it. Try to stick to one of these for the time being.
The increased competition between spread betting companies has been very beneficial for us traders. They want to give us incentives to open an account with them and that is why they give us cashback. While we shouldn't use this as our main criterion it does make for a nice sweetener. Make sure you understand the terms fully.
The one off cashback is great but you should be more concerned about your ongoing costs.
Spread betting companies won't charge you commission but they do make money from your trades. They do this through the spread of a trade. Ideally you want your account to have the tightest spreads possible.
You need to make sure that you will be able to trade in the financial instrument that you like. If you want to trade in currencies then make sure that is what they have. This is why it is sometimes better to go for specialists. If they don't offer what you want then obviously you should go elsewhere.
Think about opening 2 accounts with different spread betting companies. This then gives you the option to trade from the better one. It also allows you to be able to trade if one of the websites goes down.
It is not the end of the world if you select the wrong account. If you need to open a new account then you know there are plenty of
spread betting companies available to you.