# Spread betting API in the UK: which brokers offer one Independent and unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any broker or platform named here. Educational only: nothing here is advice, and nothing here recommends a broker or a trade. This is the markdown version of https://openbrokerapi.com/guides/spread-betting-api, written from the same records as that page. Risk warning: CFDs and spread bets are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You can lose money on these products, and each provider publishes its own loss figure under FCA rules. You should consider whether you understand how they work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Automated and API trading can amplify losses through bugs, connectivity failures and runaway orders. Of the brokers we cover, IG is the one that documents spread betting through its own API. Others offer spread betting accounts but either document CFDs only or have no retail API. This is general information, not tax or investment advice. - Checked: 2026-09-18 - For: UK traders who want to automate spread bets ## Steps ### 1. IG: spread bets through the API IG says its trading API lets you build or use solutions to trade spread bets or CFDs, and that each market instrument is either a CFD or a spread bet. Status: verified. Source: [ig.com](https://www.ig.com/uk/trading-platforms/trading-apis), checked 2026-09-18. ### 2. IG: spread bet orders look different The trading-ig FAQ says spread bets need expiry DFB (or a dated expiry for futures style bets) while CFDs use expiry "-". The wrong one gives REJECT_CFD_ORDER_ON_SPREADBET_ACCOUNT. Status: verified. Source: [trading-ig.readthedocs.io](https://trading-ig.readthedocs.io/en/latest/faq.html), checked 2026-09-18. ### 3. IG: only spread bet and CFD accounts The API works with spread bet and CFD accounts only. If your default account is an ISA, SIPP or share dealing account, v1 and v2 sessions return public-api.failure.stockbroking-not-supported, according to trading-ig. Status: verified. Source: [trading-ig.readthedocs.io](https://trading-ig.readthedocs.io/en/latest/faq.html), checked 2026-09-18. ### 4. Capital.com: API documents CFD accounts only Capital.com's public API docs show accountType CFD and do not mention spread betting. Its help centre carries a spread bet risk warning, but we found no statement that spread bet accounts work with the API. Status: unverified. Source: [open-api.capital.com](https://open-api.capital.com/), no checked date recorded. ### 5. CMC Markets and Pepperstone: no retail API Both offer UK spread betting, but we found no public retail API. CMC Connect offers FIX and a Direct API to institutional clients only; Pepperstone's API page describes FIX for very high volume accounts. Their MetaTrader and cTrader routes are covered on their broker pages. Status: unverified. Source: [cmcmarkets.com](https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-gb/trading-platforms/metatrader-4), no checked date recorded. ### 6. What differs: stake per point IG explains that a spread bet stakes an amount per point of price movement, while a CFD trades a number of contracts, each a set amount of the underlying asset. Status: verified. Source: [ig.com](https://www.ig.com/uk/spread-betting/spread-betting-vs-cfds), checked 2026-09-18. ### 7. What differs: currency IG says spread bets are denominated in sterling whatever the underlying market, while CFDs are in the currency of the underlying asset. Status: verified. Source: [ig.com](https://www.ig.com/uk/spread-betting/spread-betting-vs-cfds), checked 2026-09-18. ### 8. Tax note, general information only IG states that spread betting profits are free from capital gains tax and stamp duty for most UK residents, and spread bet losses cannot offset other gains; CFD profits fall under capital gains tax. IG adds that tax laws can change and depend on individual circumstances. Not advice: check with HMRC or an adviser. Status: verified. Source: [ig.com](https://www.ig.com/uk/spread-betting/spread-betting-vs-cfds), checked 2026-09-18. ### 9. UK risk context The FCA's retail rules cover spread bets as well as CFDs: leverage capped between 30:1 and 2:1, positions closed out at 50% of required margin, no losses beyond account funds, and a standard warning showing the share of the provider's retail accounts that lose money. Each provider publishes its own figure and updates it quarterly, so check the current number on the provider's site. Status: verified. Source: [fca.org.uk](https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/contract-for-differences), checked 2026-09-18. ## Sources - Status: verified. Source: [IG: trading APIs](https://www.ig.com/uk/trading-platforms/trading-apis), checked 2026-09-18. - Status: verified. Source: [IG: spread betting vs CFDs](https://www.ig.com/uk/spread-betting/spread-betting-vs-cfds), checked 2026-09-18. - Status: verified. Source: [trading-ig FAQ (community source)](https://trading-ig.readthedocs.io/en/latest/faq.html), checked 2026-09-18. - Status: verified. Source: [Capital.com Public API](https://open-api.capital.com/), checked 2026-09-18. - Status: verified. Source: [Capital.com help: how to start using the API](https://help.capital.com/hc/en-us/articles/6630772720402-How-to-start-using-Capital-com-API), checked 2026-09-18. - Status: verified. Source: [CMC Markets UK MetaTrader 4](https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-gb/trading-platforms/metatrader-4), checked 2026-09-18. - Status: verified. Source: [FCA: contracts for difference](https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/contract-for-differences), checked 2026-09-18. ## Related pages - [Getting started with API trading](https://openbrokerapi.com/guides/getting-started-with-api-trading): What an API is, what you need and how to make a first call safely. - [All guides](https://openbrokerapi.com/guides): Step by step guides, each step with the page it was read on. - [Brokers](https://openbrokerapi.com/brokers): The record for each broker: access, limits, endpoints and error codes. - [Platform APIs](https://openbrokerapi.com/platforms): APIs that belong to trading software offered by many brokers. - [Error codes](https://openbrokerapi.com/errors): What each error means, and the fix where the source gives one. - [Compare two APIs](https://openbrokerapi.com/compare): The same fields from two records, side by side. - [Learn to code](https://openbrokerapi.com/learn): A learning track from a first script to a demo account call. ## Licence and how to cite The records behind this page are all rights reserved. This file is the page itself, at its own address, in another format. It is not part of the CC BY 4.0 downloads listed at https://openbrokerapi.com/data. Quote from it with a link to the page. Cite as: Spread betting API in the UK: which brokers offer one. Broker API Hub, https://openbrokerapi.com/guides/spread-betting-api, newest check 2026-09-18. Where you rely on a single figure, cite the source and the checked date printed beside it as well. Where this page and a broker's own documentation differ, the documentation wins.