Having used ProSpreads for well over a year now, I can also confirm that I am spreadbetting on the live underlying market prices (I have also constantly checked their prices against other futures price feeds and platforms).
The clearest advantage of this is that they cannot manipulate or move prices against me ... I am trading the real market with no underhand tactics from an SB company. This was the main reason I moved over to them.
I'm considering opening an account with Prospreads, but really I'd like to be sure of more than just that the quoted prices are real market prices.
Do orders you place show up on level 2? If not, what's to stop the firm from exaggerating real gapping?
Also if they do take the other side, what's to stop them doing things like 'accidentally' cutting off your connection when the market's going against you, which is what other SB firms have been known to do.
I hold no grudge against them, and I really hope that they don't ever take the other side! If they don't, then there's no problem, and I'll open an account with them.
But there's a lot of smoke and mirrors in this game, and one could easily allege that IG, for example (who seem to have a massive advertising budget) are somewhat guilty of "terminological inexactitude" when they say they offer "Pure DMA". The fact is, though, presenting their offering in this way must, er, mislead people, otherwise they wouldn't do it.
Lastly, am I right to think they are under the same ownership as a standard SB firm?