IG yesterday guided that its revenues are set to be higher than expected this year – and are on track to rise 50pc on 2007.

Demand is strong for IG’s offering, which also includes contracts for difference (CFD), derivatives that allow the buyer to have an economic interest in a share without actually owning it.

There are obviously still people with money around. IG’s UK spread betting business is opening 2,000 accounts a month and new CFD accounts worldwide exceeded 2,000 for the first time in April.

For investors as well as gamblers, however, there are reasons to be cautious when laying down your money. IG’s costs have jumped because it is ploughing cash into opening up in overseas markets, including France, Spain, the US and Singapore. Most of those businesses are up and running but it is too early to tell whether they will be the engine for the profits growth that IG needs to keep on its upward trajectory.

The profit margin has been hit in part by this investment, and also because the company has been paying higher betting duty. You could regard this as good news, because most clients take out long positions in spread bets which in the difficult markets of recent months have not paid off. As a result, IG has made more from the bets, leading to higher tax.