Here's what Plus500's takeover means for customers

Customers of trading platform Plus500 have been through a lot over the last fortnight, with thousands of UK accounts containing people's cash frozen while it overhauls its anti-money laundering procedures.

Now they face the prospect of the business changing hands while all this is going on, after Plus500 announced plans this morning to sell itself to gambling software company Playtech.

So what does this mean for customers still frozen out? Not much, both sides have told Business Insider.

Playtech and Plus500 say estimates of when customers will be unfrozen remain unchanged, with a month the longest people will likely have to wait.

Playtech pitch on the deal is that its scale and expertise will help clear up Plus500's regulatory issues, but the deal is not set to complete until at least September - too late for customers caught up in the current crisis.

Beyond that, there's also the question of whether Playtech could decide to give up on Plus500's UK regulated operation. Plus500 also has Cyprus and Australian regulated businesses that it could focus on.

A spokesperson for Playtech told Business Insider it's "too early to say on regulation and this will depend on the regulators response."