Bet365
Betclic
BetVictor
Bwin
Ladbrokes
Paddy Power
SkyBet
Sportingbet
Stan James
Unibet
William Hill
PinnacleBeen a big fan of Stan James for many years, partly because I used to punt with them on the telephone when they were the trailblazing firm that rolled out in-play betting. They were the front runner in the race that has now seen Sportingbet and Bet365 currently take up the pace. Back in the day they were also the firm that first went 24/7 for their call centre. I still have happy memories of calling up and backing Michael Schumacher at 2am to win the Adelaide Grand Prix.
However it’s fair to say that the Gibraltar based sportsbook is now lagging a bit behind Ladbrokes, William Hill, BetVictor and Bet365 in that they don’t offer best priced guarantee for UK and Ireland racing. They used to run this promotion until a couple of years back. Now Stan James only offer best price guarantee for board prices. To the uninitiated, board prices are displayed as the opening price show from the track, typically on offer 10-15 minutes before off.
Stan James Racing Sponsorship at Cheltenham
“Board prices” cut out fun of accas
Part of the fun with using Bet365 (and others) is that you can place an early morning lucky 15, lucky 31 (or other favoured accumulator punt) and know that if the price drifts you still get paid out at SP. As accumulator betting is typically not the preserve of the more serious punter (generalisation, but holds true in average) I would have felt that Stan James could have offered this.
Punters never had it so good!
Half a dozen years ago I would have been shouting Stan James board price guarantee offer from the tree tops as in the then climate the bet would have led the pack. However in 2012 punters have never had it so good, and Stan James may well lose out online racing share if they don’t look to match offers with the other leading company’s. I still punt with Stan James, but of the six accounts that I regularly use for racing Stan James is one of least used at present.
I have been involved in the betting industry since the late 90’s and have in that time worked for a on course bookmaker (at now much missed Catford Dogs), spent time at a leading spread betting company, and worked for Betfair in their two year start-up phase.
In 2007 I co-founded iGaming supplier Hyperion Gaming with long suffering business partner Alex Lafferty.
Being involved in the industry for so long has given me a good understanding of the wonderful world of online gambling, and I put effort into giving honest opinions, that remain my own!
