As someboy who has seen firsthand what happens when people face financial ruin, I can’t help but wonder if platforms like Robinhood should be held accountable for turning the serious business of online trading into a game?

Watching friends lose everything they had on a whim makes this question personal. It’s time to consider the human cost of gamified trading in my view.

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[TradesForDays]

100% brother, it’s completely unacceptable we’re traders not gamers!

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[Steve]

Dylan, I think you’re absolutely spot on. I also believe Robinhood has now been landed with a pretty chunky fine for its actions – https://www.wealthmanagement.com/regulation-compliance/robinhood-pays-75m-settle-massachusetts-gamification-charge

I’m not saying that’s enough and you’re right to call it out. Hopefully other ‘trading’ apps take notice and buck up their ideas.

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[Joan]

It’s not just Robinhood, Trading212 is bad for it as well.

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[Alfie]

ETrade as well. It was handing our rewards and the like, not good!

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[James BarraModerator DayTrading.com Team]

Hi Dylan,

Thanks for your message.

It is a worrying trend. Personally, I don’t believe features like confetti when you place a trade or incentives for frequently trading should be encouraged.

Steve is right that Robinhood has faced regulatory action for some of its practices, including a $70 million penalty from FINRA in 2021 relating to various events like system outages but also its gamification of features.

The hope is that other firms learn from this and focus on developing a serious trading environment.

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[Dylan S]

Big time agree with everyone here and it is reassuring (to an extent) to hear Robinhood is being punished. Is a 70 million fine large enough for a firm that is worth billions though? Hmmmmm

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[Steve]

I mean you could argue not but it was, at least at the time anyway, the biggest fine FINRA has ever dished out so it’s not inconsequential!

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