A lot of traders are trading the stock indexes like the FTSE, the DAX, the S&Ps, NASDAQ and the DOW, but rather than use futures they are using spread betting firms. The reasons for using these firms is that they require very small amounts of capital to get started, a trader can trade very small amounts (like £1 a point on FTSE as opposed to £10 for FTSE futures) and these firms make opening an account so easy. I understand the lure of being able to open an account with very little money and trading small amounts, but I have some serious considerations about using spread betting as a realistic vehicle for professional trading.The two biggest selling points are no commissions and no capital gains tax. There are many different costs to trading, commissions are one and the spread is another (especially when you have to trade at the market as you do with spread betting, with futures you have the choice of joining the bid or the offer). Commissions are important for an active trader and as an active trader you can get them very low, but lets assume they are £8 per round turn for futures and lets assume that the spread in FTSE futures is an average of 2 points. If the spread with a spread betting firm for FTSE is 6 points and assume that we are trading £10 a point we can compare the two trading vehicles.Last week (written Nov 2001) I made an average of 2.42 points per contract traded and I traded 48 times. That is, for each contract I bought and sold I made £24.20 before commissions, assuming my commission rate is £8, I made a profit of £16.20 per contract traded, which is £777.60 net profit if my average size per trade is one contract.