Plus500 Halts New CFD Accounts for Spanish Residents Amid Tight Local Rules

Plus500 has stopped accepting new CFD trading account applications from residents of Spain, further restricting access to leveraged trading products in a market already subject to strict regulatory controls.

The change is reflected on Plus500's registration page, where Spanish users are now prevented from opening new CFD accounts. Spain's securities regulator, the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), introduced an expanded regulatory framework for CFDs in 2023.

The rules prohibit the marketing of CFDs to retail investors in Spain and extend to restrictions on introducing brokers, influencer-style promotion, event-based advertising, and the use of celebrities to promote such products. The framework focuses on limiting how leveraged products are promoted, rather than banning CFDs outright.

While the regulations set formal boundaries, their real-world impact depends on how firms implement them in practice. The Spanish market has seen a sharp contraction in leveraged trading activity, with the number of active FX and CFD traders falling to around 35,000 as of early last year, down roughly 10%, according to Investment Trends.

Spain's approach builds on the investor protection baseline established by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), which allows national regulators to impose stricter measures where additional risks are identified. Under the Spanish regime, the marketing, distribution, and sale of CFDs to retail investors through advertising communications is prohibited, regardless of whether firms operate locally or via cross-border passporting.

For Spanish residents, Plus500 is now emphasizing non-leveraged share trading through its Invest platform, which provides access to real equities in Spain and other markets.