Raceoption Review 2023

Raceoption boasts CFD and binary options trading on various markets, including forex, indices, stocks and cryptocurrencies. This 2023 broker review will cover the crucial aspects of the company’s offering to UK clients, such as minimum deposit and withdrawal amounts, payment methods, demo accounts and trading leverage. Stay tuned to discover whether Raceoption could be right for you!

About Raceoption

Raceoption.com was created in 2017 to provide CFD and fixed-time binary options speculation services to retail traders and investors around the globe. The broker is a subsidiary of Makerun Corp, which also runs the IQCent platform from its Marshall Islands headquarters location.

The firm boasts over 1,300 active traders and claims to have paid more than £1.4 million to clients for winning positions. The broker is also known for its monthly trading contests and giveaways.

It is worth mentioning at this stage that Raceoption is entirely unregulated. While this is common for binary options brokers, clients lack even the most basic protections and assurances offered by regulators (More on this later).

Asset Classes & Markets

Raceoption provides clients with over 100 products to speculate through two market classes: fixed-time binary options or open-ended CFD trades.

Binary options pay out up to 90% on successful trades. In addition, features such as double up and sell out allow investors the flexibility to commit more capital to an existing trade or exit positions early.

Forex

A fairly modest 33 currency pairs are provided by Raceoption, encompassing 28 spot instruments and five futures products. The broker supports a range of major, minor and exotic forex instruments.

Though the firm is not transparent about spreads on CFD trades, this review has found that these values fluctuate based on market conditions and are reasonably competitive.

Indices

Despite deficiencies in other markets, Raceoption excels in the selection of global indices it provides to clients. 36 index instruments are available, including the UK FTSE 100 and 250, US S&P 500 and more niche instruments such as the Kuwait general index and ASX 200 of Australia.

Commodities

A few commodities instruments are also provided for raw material speculation. The precious metals, energies and soft commodities sub-markets are all well represented.

Clients can trade five spot and four futures products from this category, with gold offered in USD and EUR currency pairs and futures contract form.

Stocks

More than 75 global equities can be traded through the firm, with big-name UK and US stocks like BAT, BP, Tesla and Apple complemented by smaller market cap international offerings, such as Tata Motors and Rio Tinto.

Cryptocurrencies & Bonds CFDs

Raceoption provides two crypto CFDs and one bond CFD in the form of two Bitcoin (BTC) currency pairs and a Germany 10-year bond product.

Leverage

Leveraged trading can amplify profits on successful trades but also increase losses substantially. Raceoption offers clients leverage capabilities of up to 1:500 on CFD trades, though unleveraged CFD trading is also supported. Margin does not apply to binary options.

The broker does not make a margin call but enforces a stop out on leveraged positions at a 5% margin level.

Account Types

Raceoption clients can choose between three account types, with eligibility based on how much capital they are willing to deposit upfront.

UK investors will be pleased to learn that GBP is supported as a base currency. However, the broker does not offer a swap-free Islamic account variant to those who cannot pay interest due to their religious beliefs.

Bronze Account

The most basic account offered by the brokerage firm is the Bronze account, which clients can open upon depositing a minimum of £210.

This account entitles users to the full range of binary options and CFD instruments through the proprietary platform and the copy trading tool (more on this later). Clients also receive a 20% bonus on their first deposit and a fully funded demo account to practise trading.

Raceoption also offers Bronze account holders around-the-clock customer service support via live video chat.

Silver Account

For those who make an initial deposit of between £850 and £2,500, the firm provides its middle-tier Silver account.

In addition to the trading conditions provided for the Bronze account, this level adds a master class web session with an industry expert, three risk-free binary options trades and ups the deposit bonus to 50%.

Gold Account

The highest account level offered to retail clients is the Gold account. This tier is available to traders that make an initial deposit of over £2,500 up to the maximum supported amount of £85,000.

Raceoption provides gold account holders with all the features of the Silver account, as well as access to a dedicated personal success manager and a significant 100% deposit match bonus.

Demo Account

A demo account is an excellent way to trial a new broker’s trading conditions or practice risk-free trading strategies.

However, while many brokers allow clients to create a demo account before committing to a full account, this firm does not allow prospective clients to access its platform before creating a real account and making a deposit. Our review found this to be highly disappointing and not on par with the services offered by alternative brokers.

Platforms

A solid trading platform is crucial to any trader as it is the sole interface between them and the financial markets.

Instead of supporting third-party platforms such as the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MT5 desktop clients, Raceoption has created proprietary, web-based software to help clients navigate its unique binary options and CFDs offering.

The charting tools provided as part of this trading platform are relatively basic, with the software prioritising ease of use over advanced analysis features. While a simple buy/sell indicator is supplied for each asset, experienced investors wishing to use complex indicators as part of their strategy may wish to look elsewhere.

However, the broker’s platform does excel in some areas. For example, the integrated copy trading feature allows users to emulate the strategies of proven traders easily. At the same time, handy double-up, early sell and rollover buttons facilitate rapid trading decisions. Additionally, clients can quickly deposit funds into their accounts without leaving the trading page for an asset of interest.

Mobile Apps

Alongside the browser-based Raceoption platform, investors can download the mobile app version for on-the-go trading. However, several reviews have criticised the platform for its lack of functionality and the prevalence of bugs.

Unfortunately, the mobile application is only available on Android devices, with no iPhone (iOS) app currently provided. Traders should always download apps from an official app store rather than through an online APK link, where possible.

Payment Methods

Raceoption supports a solid selection of deposit and withdrawal methods:

• Wire Transfer
• E-Wallets – Perfect Money, Neteller & Skrill
• Payment Cards – Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards
• Crypto – Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, ZCash, Bitcoin Cash & more

While some investors will be happy to see the range of crypto token funding methods, the lack of stablecoin support leaves traders at the mercy of the highly volatile crypto markets when making deposits and withdrawals.

Deposit & Withdrawal Times

Deposits can clear instantly for payment cards, crypto and e-wallets but bank transfers can take between 2-5 working days to clear. After the broker has approved the transaction, withdrawals take around an hour to process. Again, bank transfers will take between 2 and 5 working days.

These quoted funding times are subject to delays on weekends and public holidays.

Minimum Deposit & Withdrawal Limits

Many brokers eliminate minimum withdrawal requirements after an account has been opened, though this is not the case with Raceoption.

The firm maintains a steep £210 minimum deposit amount for most payment methods. However, it raises this to an eye-watering £4,200 for bank transfers. The broker offers a far lower minimum withdrawal of £42.

There is no maximum withdrawal limit quoted by the company, though unverified reports suggest that the firm has been unwilling to pay out on significant wins.

There are additional restrictions on withdrawals:

• Accounts With No Bonus Funds: Clients must turn over 100% of their deposited funds to make withdrawals
• Accounts With Bonus Funds: Both real and bonus funds are locked until a client turns over their 300% (3x) their deposited amount

Deposit & Withdrawal Fees

Many modern brokers waive deposit and withdrawal fees to help clients make the most of their trading funds. However, Raceoption levies a hefty 5% deposit and withdrawal fee on credit and debit card payments and a large £42 charge on international bank transfers.

All other supported funding methods are free from deposit and withdrawal fees. However, for crypto and e-wallet solutions, third-party charges often apply.

Fees

While binary options with this firm are not subject to commissions, crypto CFD fees range from 1% to 2.5% on unleveraged positions up to a considerable 5% for leveraged trades. The firm is quite opaque regarding spreads and commissions on its CFD markets, though, after some digging, its rates appear competitive.

Raceoption also levies a lofty £8.40 monthly inactivity charge on accounts that fail to make one trader in a calendar month. Unusually, there is no grace period before this fee applies.

Overnight finance fees on CFDs are charged at a base rate of 0.07% of the face value of the position, though this swap fee will often vary based on the current LIBOR value.

Security & Regulation

Avoiding scams when in the trading space is of paramount importance. Choosing a regulated broker often gives investors the best chance at a secure and legit investing experience.

Unfortunately, as with many BO providers, Raceoption is entirely unregulated, with no official body providing oversight and regulations to protect clients. As a result, measures like negative balance protection, fund protection schemes and segregated bank accounts for client funds are not supported.

These worries are compounded by various online reports that the firm is not entirely legit, though it is difficult to verify any of these claims. The advice of this review would be to proceed with caution if signing up for an account with Raceoption.

Customer Support

A solid customer service provision is a must when dealing with investing issues within the CFD and binary options spaces. Clients can contact the broker’s support team to ask for help with a trading platform that is not working, enquire about the bonus rules or request a demo account login.

Raceoption support options include a UK-based phone number, an email contact form on the broker’s website and a live video chat feature. Traders can reach the UK support line on 020 8068 5335 or email the team directly via support@Raceoption.com.

A brief FAQ section outlines various aspects of the firm’s offering, such as the basics of minimum deposit and withdrawal requirements and binary options.

Educational Content

Many brokers offer educational content to help their clients learn more about the financial markets, navigate new trading platforms and develop a trading strategy.

While Raceoption provides registered clients with a video tutorial on opening a CFD position and making binary options trades, this is the extent of its educational content.

Advantages Of Raceoption

• UK-based support
• CFDs and BO contracts
• Cryptocurrency trading
• Competitive promotions
• Intuitive trading platform
• Range of payment methods
• Wide selection of indices & equities

Disadvantages Of Raceoption

• Unregulated
• Strict inactivity charges
• Large minimum deposit
• Lack of transparency
• Very high withdrawal wagering requirements

Promotions

Promotions such as a no deposit bonus, deposit match welcome offer and fee rebates for high volume traders are common ways of enticing new clients to a trading service. Raceoption offers three main programmes: a weekly trading contest, an initial deposit bonus and monthly giveaways.

Initial Deposit Bonus

Depending on their initial deposit amount and account type (see accounts section above), clients can claim a 20%, 50% or 100% deposit match bonus up to a total of £84,000. The bonus rules require traders to wager their deposit amount 300% (3x) to unlock their funds for withdrawal.

While this is a reasonably low wagering requirement, reading the bonus policy reveals that all funds (bonus or not) are locked until this amount is met.

Trading Contest

Raceoption also runs a weekly binary options trading contest with a prize pool of around £17,000 in cash and 35 bonus funds prizes to be won. Those that finish in the top 40 leaderboard places are awarded prizes based on their position.

Additional bonus rules apply and CFD trades do not count towards this promotion.

Monthly Giveaway

A monthly prize draw is also held for investors, with prizes such as iPhones, Apple Watches and iMacs up for grabs. Clients can qualify for the different giveaway items by meeting deposit requirements within the contest month.

Additional Features

Many brokers offer additional features to help their clients thrive while trading.

Raceoption’s most useful extra feature is its integrated copy trading service, which allows users to emulate the trading strategy of proven traders. However, the broker lacks features such as VPS access for round-the-clock automated trading and an economic calendar to display upcoming market events and news.

Trading Hours

While the firm advertises non-stop 24/7 trading on its website, the products included in its offering are only available Monday to Friday. Currency pairs and crypto instruments follow the standard 24/5 forex trading hours, while stocks and indices follow their local exchange hours.

Clients can log in to the website to manage tasks such as funding and account verification at any time.

Raceoption Verdict

While support for CFD trading and binary options under one roof is handy, it is difficult to overlook the doubts that this review has revealed regarding the Raceoption service. Prospective clients should approach a completely unregulated broker with caution. At the same time, the imposition of wagering requirements on all deposits may also make some traders uneasy. This said, lucrative and regular bonus programmes could tempt some investors and the seamless copy trading integration is ideally suited to beginner traders.

FAQ

Compare Raceoption with Other Brokers

These brokers are the most similar to Raceoption:

1. Videforex - Videforex offers access to stock, index, crypto, forex and commodities markets via binary options and CFDs. The proprietary platform, mobile app and integrated copy trading are user-friendly and will suit new and casual traders, and the market analysis tools and trading contests provide good ways to improve your trading skills.
2. World Forex - World Forex is an offshore broker registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines, offering commission-free trading with a $1 minimum deposit and 1:1000 leverage. Digital contracts are also available, offering beginners a straightforward way to speculate on popular financial markets.
3. Binarycent - BinaryCent is an unregulated binary options broker that offers 24/7 trading on forex, cryptos and stocks with payouts up to 95%. Despite its lack of regulation, this broker takes client security seriously and stores client funds in European banks. The broker also offers CFDs with very high leverage up to 1:500.

Raceoption Feature Comparison

Trading Instruments Comparison

Raceoption vs Other Brokers

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