IG Group Holdings

History and Founding

IG Group was founded in 1974 by Stuart Wheeler under the name Investors Gold Index, after he developed a way for private investors to bet on gold prices during a period when direct bullion ownership was restricted in Britain. The product became recognised as financial spread betting and the company later rebranded as IG Index. IG listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2000 and grew into a global trading group. In 2021, it completed its largest acquisition, buying US brokerage tastytrade, adding options and futures trading to its existing CFD and spread-betting business.

Business Model and Regulation

IG is a principal-serving broker: it profits from bid-offer spreads, commission charges, overnight financing and other trading fees rather than from managing a betting book. Its traditional UK spread-betting product is legally classified as gambling for tax purposes, but is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as an investment service. This dual status explains why IG appears in iGaming coverage despite not being a casino or sportsbook operator. The group is also licensed in markets across Europe, APAC, the Middle East and the US, with local regulated subsidiaries handling client accounts.

Products and Platforms

The company's flagship is the proprietary IG trading platform, delivered over web, desktop and mobile, and used by retail and professional clients to trade forex, indices, shares, commodities and crypto. It comes with charting tools, risk-management features, educational webinars and algorithmic-trading integration. IG's US-facing brand is tastytrade, which focuses on options and futures. DailyFX supplies analysis and market news. IG Prime serves institutional and high-volume professional clients, while IG Smart Portfolios provides managed investment exposure.

Market Position and Competitors

IG is one of the best-known names in spread betting and CFD trading and has long been a FTSE 250 member. Its nearest listed peers include CMC Markets and Plus500, while eToro, Saxo Bank and Interactive Brokers compete for the same global retail trading audience. In the iGaming context, IG is unusual because it does not take sports bets or casino stakes; its closest link to the sector is the legal treatment of spread betting and its recent move toward betting-style consumer products.

Acquisitions and Recent Direction

The 2021 acquisition of tastytrade brought IG a major US retail trading audience and broadened its revenue mix. Under chief executive Breon Corcoran, the former CEO of Paddy Power Betfair and WorldRemit, the group has renewed its focus on high-value clients and M&A. In 2025, IG announced an agreement to acquire Underdog, a deal reported by iGaming trade publication iGamingNews and widely read as a signal that IG wants to combine its trading technology with a more gamified, US-facing betting experience. The company continues to invest in proprietary technology, regulatory compliance and global market expansion.

Governance

IG's board is chaired by Mike McTighe, with Charlie Rozes serving as chief financial officer in recent years. As with any publicly listed company, the executive team is subject to change, and the current slate of C-level officers is best confirmed from IG's latest annual report and corporate website.