Weekly Review: IG Seeks UK Gambling Licence; Plus500 to Acquire Brazilian Broker

IG Group has submitted an application for a UK gambling licence through its London subsidiary, IG View Limited, to offer prediction markets covering sports, politics and entertainment. The company plans to launch these products in early 2027 and also intends to introduce financial event contracts for professional clients in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The move follows IG’s agreement to acquire US fantasy sports and prediction markets operator Underdog for up to approximately $1.3 billion, a deal expected to close in late 2026 or early 2027.

Expansion into Prediction Markets

Breon Corcoran, the CEO of IG Group, has outlined a strategy to extend the company’s offering beyond conventional leveraged trading products. The application for the gambling licence is currently pending, and the licence has not yet been granted.

Plus500 Expands in Brazil

Plus500 has conditionally agreed to acquire full ownership of Guru Corretora de Títulos e Valores Mobiliários Ltd, a regulated Brazilian broker-dealer. The London-listed group will fund the transaction from its existing cash resources, which exceeded $860 million.

The acquisition grants Plus500 access to local licences from Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commission and the Central Bank of Brazil. These authorisations will allow the broker to expand its domestic offering to include Brazilian shares, futures, options and fixed-income securities.

Google Reopens CFD Advertising

Google has updated its policy on complex speculative financial products to permit advertising for contracts for difference, rolling spot forex and similar products in Denmark and Chile. The changes take effect in October, though Google has not specified an exact date.

Advertisers in Denmark must hold the relevant authorisation from the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, while providers in Chile must be registered with and authorised by the Financial Market Commission or the Central Bank of Chile. Google said violations would trigger a warning at least seven days before any account suspension.

Rising Acquisition Costs

Customer acquisition costs are putting pressure on forex and CFD brokers as cost-per-acquisition payments increasingly exceed clients’ initial deposits. Anish Lal, the Chief Business Development Officer at BlackBull Markets, noted that brokers may pay $800 to acquire a client who makes an initial deposit of $400 to $500.

Brokers must then rely on further deposits and trading activity over the following six to 12 months to recover the expense. If the client leaves after one or two months, the acquisition becomes loss-making.