Is Binomo Legal In Pakistan? (2025)

Paul Titus
Barry Edwards
Last Updated on October 9, 2025
Is Binomo Legal In Pakistan
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Binomo is a popular online trading app in Pakistan because of the platform’s simple interface, local payment options, and promises of easy profit from influencer endorsements. But Pakistani trading laws are pretty strict, so you might be wondering: Is Binomo legal in Pakistan?

The short answer is:

👉 No, Binomo is not legal in Pakistan because it is not licensed by the SECP, offers a gambling-like financial product in fixed-time trading (FTT), and depositing money to the broker violates the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).

Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) officially banned Binomo as one of 46 illegal apps for “scams, data theft, and addictive behaviours.” Ducky Bhai, a popular Pakistani YouTuber, was also arrested and placed under investigation for allegedly promoting Binomo and similar platforms, further confirming the government’s serious stance on this issue.

In this article, we’ll break down exactly why Binomo is not allowed to operate in Pakistan, why binary options trading itself is not an authorized financial product, and how you, as a trader, are breaking the law if you deposit money to the platform.

Online Trading Laws in Pakistan

Before we explain why Binomo is illegal in Pakistan, it’s important to understand the laws that apply to the offshore broker and how online trading is regulated in the country.

The legal status of any online trading platform in Pakistan depends on two main entities:

  • SECP (Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan): licenses and regulates financial services.
  • SBP (State Bank of Pakistan): controls all foreign exchange and remittance activities.

Here are relevant laws that apply to binary options trading:

  • Only SECP-licensed brokers can operate legally in Pakistan, and they have to follow SBP’s foreign exchange rules and legal frameworks (e.g., Securities Act, 2015).
  • You can only trade in securities that are officially listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), including sharia-compliant stocks, Sukuk bonds, mutual funds, and government securities.
  • Under FERA 1947, Sections 4 and 5, Pakistani residents are not allowed to send money abroad for unauthorized or speculative purposes.
  • Banks in Pakistan must verify the purpose of international payments and block invalid reasons, like funding offshore brokers.
  • Under Prevention of Gambling Act and Penal Code of Pakistan, gambling is strictly prohibited, and Pakistani residents can get arrested or penalized.

Why is Binomo Considered Illegal in Pakistan?

Here are three reasons why Binomo is illegal and how it fits into the current regulatory framework of online trading in Pakistan:

1. Binomo’s Binary Options Trading is Considered Illegal Gambling

Binomo offers fixed-time trading (FTT), 5-second trading (5ST), and Dynamic Range Trading (DRT), which are essentially forms of binary options trading. The SECP and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) have officially warned Pakistani retail traders that binary options trading is not a regulated financial product, as it is more similar to gambling, an activity that violates Pakistan's Prevention of Gambling Act. This is because of two key factors:

  1. Binary options trading is highly speculative, so the ultra-short duration trades you can make on Binomo (like 5-60 seconds) make the outcome based on random chance, not skillful technical or fundamental analysis.
  2. Binomo and all other binary option brokers offer an unfair payout structure where you risk 100% of your investment to win a lesser amount, typically 20-93% of your bet. So for most assets, you need to win more than 55-60% of your trades just to break even, which is a very hard task even for experienced traders.
binomo unfair payout structure is gharar

Binomo is not allowed to promote its services in Pakistan, and authorities stated in the FIR that Binomo and similar apps misled users about profit potential and failed to pay promised returns. As a result, Ducky Bhai (Saad Ur Rehman), Binomo’s popular affiliate in the country, was arrested for promoting illegal gambling apps in Pakistan, including Binomo. NCCIA describes these apps as having “defrauded investors,” reinforcing that Binomo is not only unauthorized but also exploitative.


While Binomo also offers CFD trading on 4 OTC assets, we don’t consider Binomo a CFD broker due do the low number of assets.

2. Binomo Is Not Licensed by SECP and is Officially Banned

Under Pakistani law, only brokers licensed by SECP can legally offer trading services. Binomo does not have an SECP license, which makes it an unauthorized trading platform and is operating illegally in Pakistan.

In August 2025, the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) officially banned Binomo among 46 illegal gambling and trading applications like IQ Option, Pocket Option, Deriv, Olymp Trade, OctaFX, and Quotex. The NCCIA identified “scams, data theft, and addictive behaviours” as core reasons for the nationwide ban. The agency referred Binomo to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to block its access in the country.

Binomo banned and unlicensed by SECP

Despite this, Binomo continues to target and monetize Pakistani residents. The broker heavily relies on social media influencer promotions to attract young traders, clearly indicating that Binomo is actively marketing its services in Pakistan without regulatory approval.

Many Pakistani traders try to access Binomo through VPNs or a different DNS server, but you have to understand that the lack of the SECP licence also means that your funds are not protected by Pakistani law, and if you face blocked account, rejected withdrawals, financial loss, or any other dispute with your broker, you cannot get compensated or file a complaint to SECP or SBP.

3. Sending Money to Unregulated Binary Option Brokers is a FERA Violation

Finally, and most importantly for you as a trader, sending money to Binomo is a direct violation of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA). The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) prohibits sending money abroad for speculative purposes, so you are legally allowed to try the Binomo demo, but when you deposit real money to your Binomo account, you are breaching Sections 4 and 5 of FERA, as you can read below:

“4. Restrictions on dealing in Foreign Exchange.

Except with the previous general or special permission of the State Bank, no person other than an authorised dealer shall in Pakistan, and no person resident in Pakistan other than an authorised dealer shall outside Pakistan, buy or borrow from, or sell or lend to, or exchange with, any person not being an authorised dealer, any foreign exchange.”

SBP circulars, such as EPD Circular Letter No. 08 of 2022, explicitly instruct banks to monitor and report payments made to unauthorized or speculative online trading platforms, so if you send money to Binomo, you risk having your bank account flagged or frozen, in addition to facing potential legal penalties.

Binomo unregulated international broker

In practice, enforcement is selective but real: many Pakistani traders report blocked cards, reversed transactions, or frozen accounts after attempting to fund their accounts on offshore brokers. Even small transfers can raise red flags if done often.

Does Depositing Crypto to Binomo bypass FERA restrictions?

No, using cryptocurrency to fund your Binomo account does not make the transaction legal because Pakistan's foreign exchange laws (FERA) prohibit the transfer of value abroad for unauthorized speculative trading, regardless of the currency used.

Furthermore, crypto exchanges in Pakistan are required to monitor and report suspicious activity under anti-money laundering laws, so transactions to offshore brokers can be tracked and flagged by authorities the same way as with Pakistani banks.

What are the Legal Trading Alternatives in Pakistan?

If you are looking for legal trading alternatives to Binomo, SECP-licensed brokers are your only fully legal option under Pakistani law. However, these SECP-regulated brokers are complex, require large minimum deposits, and don't offer binary options, high-leverage forex, or CFDs on global stocks and crypto. Your trading is also restricted almost entirely to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), which is probably not what you are looking for.

If you are interested in Binomo because of its simple, intuitive trading platform and the potential for high profitability in a short time, SECP-registered brokers won't meet your expectations because they are designed for conservative traders who prioritize long-term investing in the Pakistani stock market.

Conclusion

Binomo is illegal in Pakistan because it does not have an SECP license, its fixed-time trading product is considered a form of prohibited gambling in Pakistan, and funding your Binomo account is an unauthorized cross-border payment, which is a violation of the State Bank of foreign exchange laws.

The arrest of Ducky Bhai proves that the crackdown on illegal trading platforms is serious, showing that the SECP is treating both promotion and usage of apps like Binomo as a criminal issue.

Pakistani traders must understand that the above discussed SECP and FERA restrictions are not just about Binomo, no offshore broker is currently authorized to operate in the country. Binary options trading is not legal in Pakistan and if you decide to deposit money to your Binomo account, your funds are not protected by the SECP and you are directly violating FERA.

If you want to trade online legally, the only fully compliant path is to use an SECP-registered broker, even if it is not beginner-friendly and doesn’t offer the features that got you interested in Binomo in the first place.


» If you are looking for a safe and reliable trading platform, we suggest you check out our list of recommended brokers.

table of contents
1)
Online Trading Laws in Pakistan
2)
Why is Binomo Considered Illegal in Pakistan?
3)
What are the Legal Trading Alternatives in Pakistan?
4)
Conclusion