“The growing popularity of gamified trading has the potential to tackle this financial literacy gap. Rather than simply giving users unfettered access to markets and letting them figure things out for themselves, platforms can offer virtual skill games and challenges to help educate traders and prime them for success.”
Retail trading may shift away from instant-live platforms in favor of more educational, customer-led alternatives, said Stocknet Institute’s co-founder Nick Hall.
Stocknet Institute is a UK-based proprietary trading firm that offers a unique approach to retail trading and investor education. Established in March 2021, it provides virtual trading solutions, including a range of funding experiences, skill games, and career mode simulations. Stocknet Institute’s platform, known as SI World, is designed to cater to traders of all skill levels, offering a low-risk environment where they can learn, grow, and earn rewards before entering live markets.
The platform challenges the conventional approach of ‘live’ trading accounts by providing an alternative environment focused on education and skill development. It features scalable funding experiences, a marketplace for e-FX products, tournaments, and more. SI World also offers immersive virtual experiences in professional trading through skill games and career mode simulations, all designed to support and educate traders.
In defense of gamification of trading
The retail trading platform market, expected to reach 15.34 billion USD by 2030, is currently experiencing rapid growth. However, many platforms focusing on this market are primarily offering instant live market access, which may not adequately address the needs of traders, particularly in terms of guidance and risk management. A significant portion of retail traders (74%) indicated that they would engage more in trading if they had better opportunities to learn about investing. This suggests a strong demand for educational resources and a more supportive trading environment.
Nick Hall, a prominent figure in the field, points out the potential benefits of gamified trading in meeting this need for education and skill development. Gamified trading involves using virtual skill games, challenges, and simulations of real-world scenarios. This approach can provide traders, especially beginners, with a safer and more engaging way to learn and develop their trading skills. By using these tools, traders can practice and refine their strategies without the immediate risks associated with live trading.
The concept is to offer a platform where traders can gradually build their confidence and competence in a controlled, risk-free environment. This preparation is crucial for ensuring that when traders do transition to live markets, they are better equipped to make informed decisions and manage risks effectively. The incorporation of gamified elements into trading platforms could also make the learning process more engaging and interactive, which could be particularly appealing to the newer generation of traders.
Overall, the shift towards gamified trading platforms represents a move to prioritize education and skill development in the trading community, aligning with the needs and preferences of modern retail traders.
Trading platform market to grow to $15.34b by 2030
“2023 has been a turbulent year for retail trading platforms. The exposure of poor practices at platforms that prioritized their bottom line over their customers has damaged the industry’s reputation. In the coming year, it will be especially important for leaders in retail trading to challenge the status quo of risky instant-live platforms and offer more supportive, customer-led alternatives,” said Stocknet’s Nick Hall.
“The global online trading platform market is projected to grow to an unprecedented 15.34 Billion USD by 2030, but how many new retail traders will actually achieve success? Trading is a serious business that takes hours upon hours to perfect. Straight-to-live-market platforms have become the norm, but they set novice traders up to fail from the start because they skip over that crucial practice stage. Rather than learning how to navigate a turbulent market and hone their skills in a safe practice space first, traders are pushed straight in to face unnecessary risk.
“It is the duty of those providing trading experiences to be upfront about risks, and aid in avoiding them. The appetite for better, expert guidance is certainly there. A recent survey by the World Economic Forum found that 74% of retail traders would trade more if they had more opportunities to learn about investing, and 67% said they would invest more if they had more trust in their investing platform. Traders are calling out for help and we as an industry need to provide it to them.
“The growing popularity of gamified trading has the potential to tackle this financial literacy gap. Rather than simply giving users unfettered access to markets and letting them figure things out for themselves, platforms can offer virtual skill games and challenges to help educate traders and prime them for success. Through simulated real-world scenarios, traders can work to enhance their skills without incurring substantial financial losses and emotional frustration and even enjoy fun rewards along the way. Common blunders like trading without a strategy, over-trading, not capping losses, and analysis paralysis could all be avoided entirely. With the proper education, support and tools, traders will be better prepared to tackle the complexities of a live market when the time comes.
“Encouraging skill development and inspiring confidence in their users must be paramount to every platform’s mission going forward. Right now the industry is saturated by firms in a slow-burning race to the bottom, competing to see who can offer the most basic, cheapest challenge. This needs to change, and fast. 2024 will see a long-overdue return to prioritising trust, transparency, and education, and platforms that offer this will quickly rise to the top. There is a new dawn approaching in the retail trading industry, where firms must do things right, be innovative and transparent, or be left behind.”
