Is Pocket Option safe?
Not recommended
Pocket Option is on the warning lists of 17 regulators in 17 jurisdictions.
Financial regulators on six continents have warned that Pocket Option is not authorized to serve investors in their countries. Brazil's CVM fined its operator R$3.9 million in August 2026, and Italy's CONSOB has blocked its websites and asked Google to remove its app.
At a glance
- Flagged by
- FCA, Securities Commission Malaysia, Bank of Russia, National Securities and Stock Market Commission, Financial Supervisory Authority, Romania, Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria, CVM, Alberta Securities Commission, ISA, ASIC, British Columbia Securities Commission, CNMV, FSMA, CONSOB, RBI, AMF, CFTC
- Jurisdictions
- the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Nigeria, Brazil, Alberta, Israel, Australia, British Columbia, Spain, Belgium, Italy, India, France, the United States
- Alerts issued
- Jul 2018 to Aug 2026
- Every source last checked
- Sept 2026 or later
- Websites named in the alerts
- pocketoption.com, potrade.com, trader-pockethub.com, m.pocketoption.com, po.trade, p.finance, po.finance, potrade.io, po.company, potrade.ai, pocketoption.in, po-mrn.com, pocketrading.org, pocketoption.app, v1.lands-po.com, m.p.finance, prismaluxerise.it
What the regulators say
Each alert is the authority's own notice, summarised, with a link to the source. Open one for its reasons.
FCA (the United Kingdom), listed Sept 2021Unregistered / unauthorised
- ✗Not authorised by the FCA and may be targeting people in the UK
- ✗Registered address given as Castries, Saint Lucia
- ✗Clients have no access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or FSCS protection
Securities Commission Malaysia (Malaysia)Regulator warning
- ✗The Securities Commission Malaysia lists Pocket Option / Pocket Option Malaysia, with the website pocketoption.com, on its Investor Alert List for carrying on unregulated activities.
- ✗The SC gives 2020 as the listing year for the entry.
Bank of Russia (Russia), listed Sept 2021Unregistered / unauthorised
- ✗The Bank of Russia lists PO Trade, POCKET OPTION and PO TRADE LTD (Saint Lucia) on its list of entities with detected signs of illegal activities in the financial market, citing signs of an illegal professional securities market participant.
- ✗The Bank of Russia links the entry to more than 900 websites, including pocketoption.com, po.trade and p.finance, and last updated the entry's data on 8 October 2026.
National Securities and Stock Market Commission (Ukraine)Regulator warning
- ✗The NSSMC includes PocketOption, with the website pocketoption.com, in its published list of dubious investment projects.
- ✗The NSSMC says that list covers projects showing one or more indicators of dubiousness, or unethical solicitation of funds, virtual assets or other payment instruments from investors.
Financial Supervisory Authority, Romania (Romania), listed Jun 2021Unregistered / unauthorised
- ✗Romania's ASF says PO TRADE (SV) LTD and PO TRADE LTD, operating the Pocket Option brand at pocketoption.com and po.trade, are not authorized by it to provide investment services and activities under Law no. 126/2018 on financial instruments.
Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria (Nigeria), listed Jul 2025Unregistered / unauthorised
- ✗Nigeria's SEC says Pocket Option is not registered by it and is not authorized to solicit investments from the public or to operate in any capacity in the Nigerian capital market.
- ✗The SEC says Pocket Option has been actively promoted on social media and online forums, and that its operations show the typical indicators of a fraudulent (Ponzi) scheme.
- ✗The SEC advises the public not to deal with Pocket Option or its representatives in any capital market business.
CVM (Brazil), listed Aug 2026Enforcement action
- ✗The CVM fined Infinite Trade LLC R$3.9 million at its judgment session of 25 August 2026, for making a public offer of securities in Brazil without prior registration.
- ✗The CVM case report says the operation of Pocket Option was taken over by Infinite Trade LLC, a company incorporated in Costa Rica that holds no registration with the CVM.
Alberta Securities Commission (Alberta), listed May 2023Unregistered / unauthorised
- ✗The Alberta Securities Commission states that Pocket Option is not registered to trade in or advise on securities or derivatives in Alberta, and associates the firm with pocketoption.com.
- ✗The ASC recommends that investors do not deal with unregistered firms, as there is no assurance of any investor protections.
CVM (Brazil), listed Sept 2021Enforcement action
- ✗The CVM says Pro Trade LTD, Pocket Option and Gembell Limited are not authorized by it to solicit clients resident in Brazil.
- ✗The CVM found indications that Pro Trade LTD took on clients through the Pocket Option platform and pocketoption.com/pt, with Gembell Limited as the domain owner, for trading in shares, indices, commodities and forex derivatives.
- ✗Through Ato Declaratório CVM 19.121, the CVM ordered the immediate suspension of any public offer to investors resident in Brazil, with a daily fine of R$1,000 for non-compliance.
- ✗The CVM notes that a stop order is a precautionary measure and not a penalty against those named.
ISA (Israel), listed Dec 2025Unregistered / unauthorised
- ✗The Israel Securities Authority warns that Pocket Option, at pocketoption.com, which offers binary options trading, is not operated by a supervised body and holds no permit from the Authority.
- ✗The ISA says it has information that approaches were made to investors in Israel to trade on the site, and that Israeli securities law prohibits both operating a trading arena offering binary options and soliciting people in Israel to trade on such an arena, whether based in Israel or abroad.
- ✗The ISA warns that dealing with bodies that hold no licence or permit to operate in Israel carries significant risk of loss of investor funds.
ASIC (Australia), listed Jul 2026Unregistered / unauthorised
- ✗ASIC includes Pocket Option, with the website pocketoption.com, on its Moneysmart investor alert list, classified as unlicensed and last updated 20 July 2026.
- ✗ASIC says entities on the list do not hold a current Australian financial services licence or Australian credit licence and are not allowed to offer investments in Australia.
- ✗ASIC says the list is not exhaustive and is based on the information available to it at the time of publication.
British Columbia Securities Commission (British Columbia), listed Jun 2026Unregistered / unauthorised
- ✗The BCSC says Pocket Option is not registered with the BC Securities Commission, and warns that anyone approached by or referred to the entity should proceed with extreme caution before handing over money.
- ✗The BCSC lists sixteen associated websites, including pocketoption.com, potrade.ai, pocketoption.in, po-mrn.com, pocketrading.org and several platform subdomains on po2.capital and po4.capital.
CNMV (Spain), listed Aug 2019Unregistered / unauthorised
- ✗The CNMV lists POCKET OPTION, with the website pocketoption.com, among entities not authorised to provide investment services in Spain, warned on 26 August 2019.
FSMA (Belgium), listed Jun 2023Unregistered / unauthorised
- ✗Named by the FSMA in a warning about companies operating unlawfully in Belgium, offering financial services in or from Belgium without complying with Belgian financial legislation
- ✗Classified by the FSMA under fraudulent online trading platforms
- ✗The FSMA states that its list is not exhaustive and that the absence of a warning does not mean a company holds the necessary authorisation
CONSOB (Italy), listed Feb 2026Enforcement action
- ✗CONSOB ordered Po Trade Ltd, which it names as the operator, to stop providing investment services in Italy without authorisation, under Article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance
- ✗CONSOB ordered the blocking of p.finance and its related pages
- ✗CONSOB banned the advertising campaign run through prismaluxerise.it
- ✗CONSOB asked Google to remove the Pocket Option Android app from its Italian store
RBI (India)Unregistered / unauthorised
- ✗Named on the Reserve Bank of India Alert List of entities not authorised to deal in forex under FEMA and not authorised to operate an electronic trading platform for forex transactions in India
- ✗The RBI states the list is not exhaustive, and that an entity not appearing on it should not be assumed to be authorised
- ✗Listing concerns authorisation in India and is not a finding of wrongdoing
AMF (France), listed Jul 2018Unregistered / unauthorised
- ✗Blacklisted by the AMF because it offers financial services or products without being authorised
- ✗Listed under the AMF blacklist category for binary options
CFTC (the United States), listed Jul 2022Unregistered / unauthorised
- ✗On the CFTC RED List as an unregistered foreign entity soliciting or accepting funds from US customers
- ✗Operates outside the United States with no or limited US presence, offering binary options
- ✗Origin given as the Marshall Islands
- ✗The CFTC notes that inclusion on the list is not a finding that any violation has occurred
Pocket Option Regulation Status
Pocket Option is not regulated by any financial authority that has issued notices about it. Regulators in the UK, the US, Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, India, Australia, and Canada, among others, have each stated that the firm is not authorized to offer its services in their countries.
Pocket Option’s website does not identify the company behind it and shows no license from any financial regulator. Its client agreement places disputes under the laws and courts of Costa Rica. A legal base in Costa Rica is not a financial license. What protects a trader is authorization from the regulator in their own country, and in every country that has warned about Pocket Option, that authorization is missing.
Pocket Option Regulator Warnings by Country
France issued the first warning in 2018, and since then the list has expanded across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
The table lists the warnings we have verified so far. Other regulators may have issued notices too.
| Country | Regulator | Date | What the regulator said or did |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | AMF | July 2018 | Added pocketoption.com to its blacklist of unauthorized binary options websites |
| Spain | CNMV | August 2019 | Listed Pocket Option as not authorized to provide investment services in Spain |
| Malaysia | Securities Commission | 2020 | Listed Pocket Option and Pocket Option Malaysia for carrying on unregulated activities |
| Romania | ASF | June 2021 | Named PO Trade (SV) Ltd and PO Trade Ltd, under the Pocket Option brand, as unlicensed firms offering financial services |
| United Kingdom | FCA | September 2021, updated February 2026 | Not authorized, and may be targeting people in the UK |
| Brazil | CVM | September 2021 | Stop order: not authorized to take on Brazilian clients, and told to stop all public offers in Brazil |
| Brazil | CVM | August 2026 | Fined Infinite Trade LLC R$3.9 million for a public offer of securities without registration |
| Russia | Bank of Russia | September 2021, updated October 2026 | Listed PO Trade, Pocket Option and PO Trade Ltd for signs of acting as an illegal securities market participant, with more than 900 linked websites |
| Italy | CONSOB | December 2021 | Ordered Po Trade Ltd to stop offering unauthorized investment services to Italians through po.trade |
| Italy | CONSOB | April 2025 | Ordered the blocking of po.life, run by PO Trade Ltd |
| Italy | CONSOB | February 2026 | Ordered the blocking of p.finance and a linked advertising site, and asked Google to remove the Pocket Option Android app from its Italian store |
| United States | CFTC | July 2022 | Added to the RED List of unregistered foreign firms that take money from US customers, offering binary options |
| Belgium | FSMA | June 2023 | Named in a warning about fraudulent online trading platforms operating in Belgium without following Belgian law |
| Ukraine | NSSMC | Listed | On its list of dubious investment projects |
| Nigeria | SEC | July 2025 | Not registered or authorized to take investments from the public, and its operations show the typical signs of a Ponzi scheme |
| India | RBI | Listed (list updated November 2025) | On the Alert List as not authorized to deal in forex or run an online forex trading platform |
| Israel | ISA | December 2025 | Not supervised and holds no permit, and investors in Israel were approached to trade on it |
| Canada (British Columbia) | BCSC | June 2026 | Added to the Investment Caution List as not registered, with sixteen linked websites |
| Australia | ASIC | July 2026 | Added to the investor alert list as unlicensed |
Several of these go beyond a simple listing. Brazil’s CVM has moved from a stop order to a fine against the operator. Italy’s CONSOB has acted three times over the past five years. Nigeria’s SEC has used the strongest language of any regulator, saying the platform shows the typical signs of a Ponzi scheme.
Who Owns and Operates Pocket Option
Pocket Option's website does not name a legal company. Its client agreement refers to the company only as “Pocket Option” and directs disputes to the courts of Costa Rica. Brazil’s CVM identified the operator as Infinite Trade LLC, a company registered in Costa Rica, when it fined it in August 2026.
Earlier notices named other companies and locations. In 2021, the CVM named Pro Trade LTD as the firm taking on clients, with Gembell Limited as the owner of the website domain. Romania’s ASF named PO Trade (SV) Ltd and PO Trade Ltd as operating the Pocket Option brand. CONSOB’s 2021 order listed PO Trade Ltd’s registered office in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The FCA lists an address in Castries, Saint Lucia, and the CFTC records the firm’s origin as the Marshall Islands.
In our assessment, this is a serious problem for customers. The company behind the platform has moved between offshore locations, and the website now lists no company at all. That makes it hard to know who holds your money or where to file a dispute.
Pocket Option Withdrawal and Fund Safety Risks
A regulator warning is not a ruling on any single customer’s account. The notices show which protections are missing:
- United Kingdom: the FCA says the firm’s customers cannot complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service and are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
- United States: the CFTC says traders may have little or no protection when using unregistered firms based outside the US.
- Australia: ASIC says firms on its list hold no Australian financial services license and are not permitted to offer investment products in Australia.
- Israel: the ISA warns that dealing with unlicensed bodies carries a significant risk of losing your money.
In plain terms, no regulator in any of these countries oversees how Pocket Option holds client funds or processes withdrawals. If a withdrawal is delayed or refused, there is no ombudsman or compensation scheme to turn to.
Pocket Option and Binary Options Bans
Pocket Option’s main product is binary options. You predict whether a price will be higher or lower after a set time. If you are right, you get a fixed payout, and if you are wrong, you lose your stake. France’s AMF, the US CFTC, and Israel’s ISA all describe the platform as a binary options provider.
Many major regulators have banned this product for retail traders. The European Securities and Markets Authority banned the sale of binary options to retail investors across the EU as of 2 July 2018. The FCA’s permanent UK ban took effect on 2 April 2019. In Australia, ASIC’s ban took effect on 3 May 2021 and was extended to 1 October 2031.
ASIC’s 2017 and 2019 reviews found that about 80% of retail clients lost money trading binary options. As a result, no authorized firm in the UK or Australia may sell binary options to retail clients.
Pocket Option Websites and Mirror Domains
Pocket Option operates under multiple web addresses. The FCA lists pocketoption.com, potrade.com, trader-pockethub.com, and m.pocketoption.com. The BCSC counts sixteen linked websites, including subdomains of po2.capital and po4.capital. CONSOB’s orders have covered po.trade, po.life, and p.finance.
A new web address does not mean a new company. Before you deposit anywhere, verify the exact address against your regulator’s register and warning list.
Pocket Option Restricted Countries
Pocket Option says it does not serve residents of EEA countries, the US, the UK, Israel, Japan, the Philippines, or Brazil. If you live in one of these places, the platform is not available to you. Outside these countries, it still accepts clients, but it is not overseen by any regulator listed on this page.
Pocket Option Safety Verdict
Pocket Option is not a safe place for your money. Regulators across six continents say it is not authorized in their countries. Brazil has fined its operator, and Italy has blocked its websites. Its main product is banned for retail traders in the UK and Australia. If you want to trade, choose a broker authorized by your country’s regulator.
If you have already deposited
- Stop sending money, including any “fee”, “tax” or “release charge” requested before a withdrawal can be paid.
- Keep records: account statements, emails, chat messages, and the reference of every payment.
- Contact your bank or card issuer quickly. Ask about a chargeback or a recall of the transfer; both have time limits.
- Report it to the authority that issued the alert (linked above) and to your country's police or fraud-reporting service.
- Be wary of anyone offering to get your money back for a fee. Regulators warn that “recovery” offers aimed at people who have already lost money are a common second fraud.
How to check any broker yourself
- Look the firm up on your own regulator's register by its exact legal name. A licence number on the firm's website proves nothing until the register confirms it.
- Check that the website address matches the one on the register. Firms that copy a licensed broker's name and details (clone firms) are among the most common alerts.
- Search warnings from regulators worldwide on IOSCO's I-SCAN, or check any broker or firm in our Broker Safety Check.
Top-tier regulated alternatives
Brokers licensed by a top-tier regulator, on no warning list we track, rated highest for safety.
CMC Markets
Safety 4.7/5
73% of retail FX and CFD accounts lose money.
Swissquote
Safety 4.7/5
75% of retail FX and CFD accounts lose money.
Frequently asked questions
No. Pocket Option is not authorized by any regulator that has issued notices about it, including the FCA, the CFTC, ASIC, and the Reserve Bank of India. Brazil’s CVM has also fined Infinite Trade LLC, identified as the operator, R$3.9 million.
No. Pocket Option shows no license from any financial regulator, and no major regulator lists it as licensed. Regulators across six continents say it is not authorized in their respective countries.
Two regulators have used fraud-related language about it. Nigeria’s SEC says its operations show the typical signs of a Ponzi scheme, and Belgium’s FSMA lists it among fraudulent online trading platforms. Neither is a court ruling, but with no regulator overseeing the firm, customers have no regulator-backed protection if money goes missing.
No. The Reserve Bank of India lists Pocket Option on its Alert List of platforms that are not authorized to deal in forex or to operate an online forex trading platform. The RBI adds that its list is not exhaustive, so a platform missing from it is not automatically authorized.
No. Nigeria’s SEC says Pocket Option is neither registered nor authorized to accept public investments or to operate in Nigeria’s capital market. It advises the public not to deal with the platform or its representatives.
No. Pocket Option states that it does not serve residents of Brazil, and Brazil’s CVM ordered it to halt all public offers to Brazilian residents in 2021. In August 2026, the CVM fined Infinite Trade LLC, identified as the operator, R$3.9 million for offering securities in Brazil without registration.
No. Pocket Option says it doesn’t serve UK residents, and the FCA says it isn’t authorized and may be targeting UK residents. If you deal with Pocket Option, you cannot use the Financial Ombudsman Service, and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme won’t cover you.
No. Pocket Option says it does not serve US residents and is not registered with the CFTC. The CFTC lists it on its RED List of unregistered foreign firms that take money from US customers, though it notes that being on the list is not a finding that a law was broken.
Pocket Option’s website does not disclose its owner. In 2026, Brazil’s CVM identified the operator as Infinite Trade LLC, registered in Costa Rica. Older regulator notices list Po Trade Ltd, PO Trade (SV) Ltd, and Gembell Limited, with addresses in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, and the Marshall Islands.
Stop making new deposits and keep records of every payment and message. Contact your bank or card issuer as soon as possible regarding a chargeback or payment recall, and report the firm to your regulator. Be wary of anyone who offers to recover your money for a fee.
This page reports what the authorities above have published, and is checked against their sites. If an alert has been withdrawn or you believe something here is wrong, contact us and we will check it against the source.
CFDs are complex instruments that carry a high risk of rapid losses due to leverage. Between 74% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford the risk of losing your money.