Trading Tournaments

Trading tournaments are hosted by online brokers and provide a forum where clients can sharpen their skills and win prizes. Trading contests may focus on a particular market, such as forex, and often require participants to achieve the largest profits over a set period. This article lists the brokers with the biggest trading tournaments available to UK investors. Our team also unpack typical prizes, from bonus credits and trade-loss vouchers to free merchandise.

What Are Trading Tournaments?

Trading tournaments are contests hosted by brokerages to challenge users and encourage trading activity on their platforms.

Entry requirements vary with traders typically paying a small fee to take part, though some tournaments are free to join. Clients are often given a contest account either with a virtual bankroll or using their own funds. Traders then compete with participants to achieve the highest profit or execute the greatest volume of forex trades, for example.

Timeframes differ between providers but contests typically run for several days up to a few months. IronFX, for example, operates trading tournaments that run for three months with a variety of prizes, including cash bonuses, Apple iPhones and smartwatches. Alternatively, IQCent runs weekly tournaments with 20 winners taking home cash rewards each week.

The best brokers with trading tournaments host live leaderboards during the contest period that rank the top-performing traders. These are often updated daily and provide useful insights such as the strategies and associated profits of competitors.

Winners are normally contacted by email at the end of the tournament. Bonus credits and prizes are generally distributed within a couple of weeks.

Entry Requirements

Most brokers with trading tournaments have certain entry requirements. These typically include:

• Account: To participate in online trading tournaments, you often need to register a live account with the hosting broker. This is the case at PrimeXBT, for example.
• Minimum deposit: Some tournaments require a minimum deposit to be eligible for participation – this varies between contests and brokers but often ranges from £0 to £200.
• Participation fee: Some trading tournaments have a participation fee, while others are free to enter. IQCent automatically enrols all clients but requires a minimum trade of £1 to contribute towards trading volumes.
• Platform access: You will need to download the broker’s trading platform or app. Alternatively, tournament brokers like Pocket Option have a web-accessible terminal.

PrimeXBT Trading Contests

UK Regulations On Trading Tournaments

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorises trading brokers that market their services to residents of the UK. The regulator takes a dim view of financial incentives generally, requiring firms to operate in a fair and transparent manner and not to encourage customers to engage in over-trading or excessive risk-taking. As a result, most FCA-regulated brokers do not run trading tournaments.

UK traders can still sign up with brokers based abroad, but they may not operate with the same level of scrutiny. As a result, British traders should only sign up to trusted brokers with trading tournaments. This will help investors avoid scams.

Benefits Of Trading Tournaments

• Typically free to enter, with the chance to win cash prizes
• An opportunity to practice trading skills in forex, stocks, commodities and cryptos
• A competitive environment that motivates traders to improve their strategies and setups
• Learn from and interact with other traders through social networking capabilities

Drawbacks Of Trading Tournaments

• May not accurately reflect real market conditions if hosted in a simulated trading environment
• Typically groups all participants regardless of experience, making it harder for beginners to win the biggest prizes

How To Find Online Trading Competitions

To check if a broker offers trading tournaments, visit their website and look for a section related to promotions or contests. Many brokers also advertise their tournaments through social media channels or emails.

You can also contact the broker’s customer support team to inquire about upcoming contests or promotions. Alternatively, use our list of the best brokers with trading tournaments.

Tip: Look at the broker’s tournament schedule to see how frequently they host contests. Also consider the asset classes available, such as forex and crypto, plus the prizes. Leading contest brokers like PrimeXBT have prize pots of £20k+.

Bottom Line On Trading Tournaments

Trading tournaments are a popular way for UK traders to compete for big prizes in the forex, stock and crypto markets. To participate, traders will usually need to register with a hosting broker and meet eligibility criteria, such as verifying their identity and paying a sign-up fee.

Get started with our table of top brokers with online trading tournaments.

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