Plus500 to Enter Indian Derivatives Market, but 9 out of 10 Traders There Lose Money

Plus500 (LON:PLUS) earlier this year agreed to buy an Indian broker to enter the world’s largest futures and options market. However, nearly 91 per cent of individual Indian futures and options traders lost money in the financial year 2025, which ended on 31 March, according to the local regulator.

Indian Derivatives Traders Are Losing Money

A study by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) revealed that the net loss of individual traders in the financial year widened by 41 per cent to around US$12.37 billion.

While the aggregate net loss of individual traders jumped in the first three quarters, the figure fell in the final quarter.

The losses widened despite a drop in the total number of individual investors in the Indian futures and options market, which declined by 20 per cent year-on-year between December 2024 and May 2025. However, the figure rose by 24 per cent over two years.

The number of individual investors in the market also fell from around 6.14 million in the first quarter of FY25 to about 4.27 million in the last quarter.

Despite the widespread losses, the Indian options market remains highly active. The country became the largest retail options market globally, with over 150 billion options contracts traded in FY24, up from 85.3 billion contracts the year before. In comparison, the US, which has the second-largest market, handled 12.3 billion options contracts in 2024.

Plus500’s Bet on India

The sheer volume of the Indian options market likely triggered Plus500’s interest, leading to its agreement to acquire Mehta Equities, a regulated Indian wealth manager and broker, for $20 million. The acquisition paved the way for the Israeli broker to enter the Indian market.

London-listed Plus500’s interest in the Indian options market comes at a time when it is also expanding in the US retail futures space. According to the broker’s latest financials, around 13 per cent of its H1 revenue came from the futures and options markets.

Read more: Plus500's H1 All-Time-High Deposits Pushes Q2 Revenue Higher

However, futures and options are structurally different from contracts for differences (CFDs), which still remain Plus500’s primary revenue source.

Unlike CFDs, which are traded in the over-the-counter (OTC) market, futures and options contracts are exchange-listed.

According to Plus500’s European website, 80 per cent of the continent’s CFD traders on its platform lose money. Despite CFDs being considered very risky, the share of loss-making traders in India’s futures and options market is even higher.

Meanwhile, the popularity of CFD brokers in India is rising. According to Finance Magnates Intelligence, India’s share of CFD website visits climbed to 55 per cent of global traffic. However, the country does not regulate CFDs nor bans the instruments.