Is Binary Options Gambling?

In short, yes and no.

The Trader vs. The Gambler

It comes down to your approach to the market: are you a trader or a gambler?

Leaving any sort of moral argument out of it, both the trader and the gambler have a different approach to binary options. Both have varying objectives when they place a trade (or bet).

The Trader’s Approach

Generally the trader’s approach to binary options is more organised, they’re not playing for fun or entertainment, but to make a consistent profit over time. This is a serious business.

The trader is looking for an edge.

They might find their edge in studying the fundamentals of the market each week or day. It might be in understanding technical price levels, using indicators or even analyzing and trading on news, data releases or political events when they occur.

In most instances they will have prepared a trading plan in advance, and know the trades they want to make when their criteria is met. They may have even programmed these levels into their charting software to notify them when prices are moving, this is also useful if you have a full time job and are trading as a hobby or side business.

“So we hit the the Euro through 1.10….I got it.”

The Gambler

While the gambler is interested in profits, they are often seeking something else from the market.

This may be their form of entertainment, just as people spend considerable money on computer games or make a bet on their favourite football team.

They could be conservative in all other aspects of their life and investments and trading is where they deploy a small amount of their risk capital in the hope of making large and fast profits.

This leaves one final question you need to ask yourself…..

Well, are you a trader or a gambler?

While we consider ourselves traders and write this site for traders, it is important to recognize another large segment of players in the market.

We don’t discuss the moral or religious arguments of gambling, but ultimately different people want different things from trading binary options and it is up to us individually to decide what we want out of the market.

Are you treating this as a serious business or do you want something else from trading the markets…..

Do yourself a favour and read our Binary Option broker reviews before you begin trading.

Join TradingView for free to take your binary option charting to the next level.