South Africa
FSCA
Binary options are not prohibited in South Africa.
These are the markets where binary options are still offered to retail clients. Being available is not the same as being supervised, so each page leads with the regulator's position rather than with a broker table.
Markets without a prohibition
Kenya
CMA
There is no licensing regime for binary options in Kenya.
No provider recommendation on this page.
Nigeria
SEC Nigeria
Nigeria has no binary options licensing regime, and sources disagree on whether offshore providers are merely unrecognised or actually prohibited.
No provider recommendation on this page.
Philippines
SEC Philippines
Retail trading is not itself illegal, but the SEC licenses no binary options provider, so every platform serving Filipino clients is offshore and unsupervised.
No provider recommendation on this page.
Thailand
SEC Thailand
Not explicitly illegal for an individual, but a provider serving Thai residents without a Thai SEC licence is operating outside the framework.
No provider recommendation on this page.
United Arab Emirates
CMA (formerly SCA)
Trading is not prohibited, but no binary options product is licensed by the UAE CMA, the DFSA or the FSRA for retail clients.
Mexico
CNBV
No Mexican licence covers binary options and the CNBV recognises no provider, leaving the product unsupervised rather than banned.
No provider recommendation on this page.
Colombia
SFC
The SFC does not authorise binary options, and offering them to Colombian residents is not permitted under Colombian law.
No provider recommendation on this page.
Peru
SMV
Unregulated rather than prohibited.
No provider recommendation on this page.
Large markets where the product is prohibited
India and Brazil together account for the largest share of binary options traffic worldwide — and in both, the product is banned. We cover them because the questions are real, not because we will route you to a platform.
India
SEBI / RBI
Binary options are not a permitted retail product in India, and funding an offshore trading account from India contravenes FEMA.
Brazil
CVM
CVM Resolution 598/2018 prohibits offering binary options contracts in Brazil.
Everywhere else
For markets with an active prohibition — the EEA, UK, Australia, Canada, Israel and others — see legal status by country.
Risk warning: binary options are high-risk speculative instruments and most retail accounts lose money. Nothing on this page is investment advice or a recommendation to trade.