Stan James Casino United Kingdom 2017 Review

If you’re based in the United Kingdom, then you’ve almost definitely heard of Stan James. This bookmaker has never quite scaled the heights that Ladbrokes and William Hill have obtained, but their betting shops can in found in numerous high streets up and down the UK. They were founded in 1973 when Steve & Anne Fisher (Stan) and James Holder (James) opened a betting shop in Wantage, Oxfordshire.

The company went from strength to strength, opening an online sportsbook in 1997. This sportsbook soon added a casino offering, and, eventually, a live casino and a dedicated poker room. In 2015 Stan James sold its online division to one of its rivals, Unibet.

The Stan James Casino runs via licensing issued by the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority and the United Kingdom Gambling Commission.

Welcome bonus

New players at the Stan James Casino are entitled to two bonus offers, the first being five free spins on any of the slots listed in the ‘Bonus Games‘ section of the site. You do not have to make a deposit at the casino in order to receive free spins – you just need to complete your registration.

You must win at least £0.25 from your free spins – any less and your winnings will be forfeited automatically. You will need to wager your winnings thirty (30) times before you can cash them out, and again if your bonus slips below £0.25 in value it will be forfeited.

The second deal is a one hundred per cent welcome bonus up to a maximum of £100. If you make an initial deposit of at least £20 and then contact the Stan James Casino service team, they will credit you with a bonus matching your deposit up to that maximum value of £100.

Note that this bonus offer is not available to customers registering from Afghanistan, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, France, Hong Kong, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, United States of America, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Australia or Romania.

Your welcome bonus cash must be wagered forty (40) times before you can withdraw as long as you have registered from the United Kingdom or Ireland. If you register from elsewhere, then these wagering expectations will rise to sixty (60) times.

Only games listed under this site’s ‘bonus games’ tab contribute fully towards wagering expectations. Other games – such as roulette and blackjack – contribute twenty per cent.

All wagering expectations (including those for free spins winnings) must be met within three days of any bonus cash being awarded. If not, all bonus cash will be forfeited.

Range of Games

The main software providers at Stan James Casino are Microgaming and NetEnt. They are two of the biggest names around when it comes to gaming software. This site’s ‘second string’ team ain’t bad either – NextGen Gaming, WMS, Realistic Games, Novomatic, Amaya, Quicksping and 2 By 2 Gaming all contribute their best titles here.

Slot-wise, many of the best games in the online gaming realm are available to play here – titles such as Starburst, Superman: Last Son of Krypton and Jack & the Beanstalk.

Not everyone is enthralled by slots though, so it’s a good job there are plenty of other titles. In the ‘table games’ section you will find over thirty games including all your casino favourites – blackjack, roulette, three card poker, casino poker, baccarat, pai gow poker and ‘Red Dog’.

There are also five video poker titles, including the most popular ones.

The live casino here is powered by Evolution Gaming and has roulette, blackjack, casino hold’em, baccarat and three card poker.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Get your money quickly – fast withdrawal times
• Plenty of online slots and enough table games
• Nice welcome bonus with achievable wagering
• Plenty of other gaming options

Cons

• Some may find the colour scheme used a little jarring!

Layout and usability

Your first strides into the online realm of Stan James will probably take you to their sports book. You can access all the other online wagering options via this portal, including the live casino (powered by Evolution Gaming) and a dedicated poker room. For the point of this review we’re going to concentrate on two sections: Casino and Games.

Both sections appear identical except for the titles each section provides. The ‘Casino’ section has titles by all of the software providers enlisted by Stan James Casino, but the ‘Games’ section only has titles by Microgaming.

Both sections have been designed in a very traditional format. Banners and a list of the latest winners at the site rotate along the top of the screen, with menus to the left and selection thumbnails occupying the greater part of the available space.

There’s a very fine mobile-optimised version of the Stan James Casino available for smart phones and tablets. It doesn’t quite have as much content as the desktop site, but there are certainly more than enough titles to keep you entertained whenever you fancy a bit of ‘gambling on the go’.

You can even play at the live casino that’s available here via your selected mobile device! Most modern handsets or tablets will happily load up and play the Stan James Casino Mobile App, but it helps if you have an iOS or Android powered device.

Promotions for existing players

There are ongoing bonuses available at Stan James Casino too. Each and every day there’s a chance of a £5 bonus – all you need to do is wager £10 on a daily selected game, and a freebie fiver is yours (wagering conditions apply, of course). You can also enjoy ten percent cashback if you play roulette at the site’s live casino.

VIP/loyalty scheme

For the best in rewards, you can enter the VIP Lounge. This is a frequent player scheme set on three auspicious levels – silver, gold and platinum. You earn one VIP point for every £10 that you wager at this casino, and if you earn 20,000 points in any four week period then you enter the VIP Lounge at the silver level. You need 200,000 points to become a platinum VIP. VIPs receive extra benefits such as enhanced points conversion and special gifts.

Special features

Your first port of call when you’re in need of a little in the way of customer service at Stan James Casino is the help tab in the top left hand corner of the screen. Here you will find all the answers to basic questions about the functioning of the site and the games that are available.

If you need a little more immediate help, then you can phone Stan James Casino direct. The numbers are 08000 35 11 35/36 from within the UK, or +800 1124 1124 or +350 200 44 002 from outside the UK. You can email the site at service@stanjames.com.

If you’d prefer the live chat function, then live support is available via a chat applet twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Other betting options

Stan James, as you probably have guessed, began life as a bookmakers. In fact the company opened its first betting shop in 1973, although ‘Stan James’ never existed! The founders were Steve Fisher, Anne Fisher and James Holder – so now you know where the name comes from!

Anyhow, Stan James debuted online in the early 2000s as a sports book, and added an online casino shortly afterwards. Over the years they’ve also added an in-play sports-betting facility, a live casino, a dedicated poker room and as recently as 2016 a bingo room. There isn’t one aspect of online gambling that’s not covered here, so if you prefer to keep all your eggs in one basket when it comes to sports betting, then Stan James is undoubtedly the place for you!

Conclusion

In our opinion, Stan James Casino is near faultless. If we were going to be really niggly, then the only thing we are not in favour of is that ‘£0.25’ limit with bonus money and free spins winnings. Twenty-five pence is not a lot of money, but it’s still your dosh!

Everything else though – the range of games and software providers, the bonuses that are available, the live help, the design of the site and the convenient payment options – we most heartily approve of. What’s more, if you are a sports betting fan and you get a little jaded with the casino content here you can simply switch over to the sports book and indulge your wagering wants.

The Stan James Casino has been something of a success story since its launch around a decade ago, and it’s easy to see why. We think this success story has a few chapters yet to be written!