GameStop fun turns serious for Reddit's WallStreetBets

Analysis: financial risk is often an in-joke for the anarchic group of traders - but no one is laughing now

• GameStop shares plunge after ban by Robinhood app

In normal times, everything on WallStreetBets, the anarchic community of online day traders that has propelled shares of the US video game retailer GameStop up 2,200% this year, is simultaneously a joke and wholly serious.

The group, made up of more than 4.5 million members of the social media site Reddit, has been well known in certain corners of the financial community for years thanks to its unique approach to equity markets.