One of a number of British bookmakers who decamped to Gibraltar at the end of the 20th century for their more favourable tax policies, Stan James started life back in 1973 as a traditional high street bookie.

Since the relocation, their brand has grown dramatically due to heavy investment to enhance the online presence of the business. They have put a lot of time and effort into their in-play betting console, and also claim to have more markets in a wider range of sports than any of their rivals (though good luck to you if you want to count them up and compare!).

As one would expect, Stan James also offer an online casino, a poker platform, games and bingo, all of which are accessible from their main website.

As they claim, Stan James do offer a massive array of markets, with a heavy focus on football, horse racing and more traditionally 'English' sports such as rugby and cricket. They do of course cover lots of more minor sports, including Aussie rules football, hurling, volleyball and squash, and have a decent number of novelty markets available.

In terms of value, they just about keep pace with the market leaders and - while far from carefree - regularly test the waters with the best early price on particular events, and often put their neck on the block when holding firm on a standout price on a big money favourite, especially in horse racing.

On the face of it, Stan James offers one of the more generous free bet bundles in the industry. But while some bookies go for the straight 100% match of the first bet or deposit, the 150 GBP in free bets on offer here is a little more complicated.

To kick it off, they will match your first bet of up to 10 GBP with a freebie to the same value. Nice and easy. But the next free bet is worked out to match the average of your next two bets, up to 20 GBP. A third bet is available on the same basis (to match the average of the next three bets) up to a maximum of 30 GBP, then a fourth up to 40 GBP and a fifth, and final, free bet of up to 50 GBP, making the 150 GBP in total. Your best must be placed at odds of at least 1/2 (1.50), which is not too restricting.

Stan James also has plenty of regular promotions and bonuses to keep customers interested, notably their weekly 'Happy Hour' during which (once a week on Saturdays) they offer the 'best industry price' on a specific horse running in a big race that day. Likely to feature a well-fancied favourite, this could work out as a very lucrative offer for regular racing punters. Other offers include refunds (as free bets) on certain cricket markets, enhanced odds accumulators and various welcome bonuses in the casino and poker suites.

The bookie has an excellent in-play console that also incorporates live streaming of many events. The live events are well presented and there are a decent number of markets available on many events, especially football matches, and navigating through the various options and information is clear and intuitive.

The mobile betting application offered by Stan James is relatively new, but it is also very good. It is available to use on iPhones, Androids and a host of other mobile devices. Simply enter the main site URL on your mobile and on you go. Easy to use, plenty of markets to bet on and it looks nice too! What's more, they also sometimes offer improved odds exclusively to mobile customers.

Telephone: 08000 35 11 36 / +350 200 44 002
Email: service@stanjames.com
Address: Stan James, The Square, Marina Bay, Gibraltar
Other contact methods: Live chat

Stan James pay a lot of attention to their customer service standards, and it shows. Not only are they available 24/7 by phone, email or via their excellent live chat service, but the representatives we dealt with in our research were polite, informative and knowledgeable.

We never had to wait long for a representative to become available on the live chat and emails were also answered in a full and prompt manner. Top marks for this section.

Stan James are one of the top bookies around, and would be given top marks if they were a tiny bit braver in their odds and certainly if their initial free bet offer was just a straight 150 GBP 100% match of the first bet.

As it is, they are still well worth signing up to, especially for football and racing fans, and for those looking to use their mobile for sports betting, Stan James are up there with the best of them. Along with their excellent customer service and well-designed website, they certainly tick most boxes for us.