| |
Read our expert review of Stan James and the assessment of Stan James in all key aspects of online bookmakers
that are essential for a modern, professional and sound online football betting bookmaker.
That includes betting markets offered, odds, their website, in-play (live) betting opportunities, quality of
customer service and promotions.
|
| |
|
Stan James Ratings & Review
10 Stan James
Introduction
Stan James have been part of the betting landscape since setting up in 1973 with a series of retail outlets dotted around the United Kingdom. A burgeoning telephone betting operation and website soon followed, with the company being the first to offer In-Play betting, something which has proved them to be trend-setters. The company are now licensed in Gibraltar and have their headquarters here, where they take bets from tens of thousands of customers every day.
Stan James Odds
Stan James are very competitive when it comes to their horse racing prices and it’s this sport where they have always had a traditionally strong trading team. Although it’s possible that more money is now taken on football, especially as In-Play betting grows more popular, the soccer prices are middle of the road. You will rarely find Stan going best price about a particular favourite, although they do run with competitive margins which doesn’t show them up against competitors.
SCORE: 7 (out of 10)
Markets
There are roughly 30 sports covered at any given time, with horse racing, football, golf, rugby, tennis and cricket proving the best in terms of market coverage. Stan James clearly have a very high percentage of their customer base in the UK and cater especially well for soccer punters. For a big match, you might expect to see around 25 pre-match markets, although there’s nothing different which sets them apart from competitors.
Indeed, you generally get the feeling that Stan James is a firm that are happy to sit alongside their competitors and be content with their share of market rather than really push the boat out and offer something different. For sports such as cricket and tennis, there are a handful of markets for each match but nothing to get too excited about.
SCORE: 6 (out of 10)
Website
Stan James have a nice neat website which doesn’t try to be too flash and is all the more successful for it. The latest upcoming event features alongside the masthead at the top of the site, the various sports are neatly listed in a left-hand menu and the main body of the homepage has three tabs where you can either see ‘What’s On’, ‘Live on TV now – UK’ or ‘Live on TV now – non UK’. All the big sporting events at that particular time are covered by thumbnails and editorial.
The bet slip functionality is well considered, with this always visible on the page which makes it easy when you’re compiling a multiple bet with lots of different selections. It’s then easy to bring up the bet slip and place bets accordingly. This bookmaker website is one of the fastest to load and Stan James have a ‘Bet and Watch’ facility for all UK and Irish racing through their deal with At The Races and Racing UK.
SCORE: 7 (out of 10)
In-Play Betting at Stan James
Stan James may have pioneered live betting back in the 1990’s, although it appears that they are lagging behind when it comes to In-Play wagering online. There is no section of the website devoted to betting live, with this bookie instead integrating it with the pre-match coupons which proves to be confusing. The odds don’t appear to update in real time and instead force the customer to refresh the page in order to get the latest price. In addition, it appears that only one live market can be shown on the page at any given time, so it doesn’t make for a satisfying experience.
SCORE: 4 (out of 10)
Stan James Customer Service
This is an area where they fare much better. It’s great to see the email and telephone support contact details displayed so prominently on the Stan James homepage, with the operator offering a 24/7 service to all of their customers. There is freephone numbers available for clients calling from the UK, Greece and Spain, with international customers given an alternative contact number. The staff are usually pretty quick at getting back to you on emails, while the phone staff are knowledgeable and courteous.
SCORE: 8 (out of 10)
Stan James Free Bets & Promotions
There are also £150 in free bets available for first-time depositors, where your first 15 qualifying bets will be matched in a certain way. Stan James also create cashback offers for other sports such as offering money back if Nadal fails to drop a set at the French Open, while they are one of several bookmakers that offer Best Odds Guaranteed on UK and Irish racing.
As an example Stan James had an excellent World Cup promotion where all losing outright bets were refunded when Spain won in South Africa. This was a particularly generous concession considering that they were the World Cup favourites and clearly designed to encourage loyalty among new customers.
SCORE: 9 (out of 10)
Summary of the Stan James Ratings Review
There are some things that Stan James does well, although In-Play betting is not one of them. Indeed, it’s no use claiming to have pioneered live wagering if the service provided is not particularly impressive. It’s a shame as the rest of the service is perfectly fine and the cashback promotions are better than practically every other bookmaker in the business. Stan offer a great pre-match football service and their website is nice and quick.
OVERALL SCORE: 41 (out of 60)
Sign up at Stan James!
Click here to view all the Bookmaker Comparison Ratings
Click here to view the Free Bets Offers
another StanJames Review
and a Stan James Bookmaker Review
and the Stan James Free Bet Review
|
| |
|
|
|
|
More Resources
