Stan James

History

The Stan James brand began life in 1973 as a single betting shop in Wantage, Oxfordshire. The company was founded by Steve Fisher and James Holder, and is now owned by Unibet Group plc. The company was named ‘Stan James’ by taking the first two letters of Steve and his wife, Anne (Stan), and from James. Nowadays, the Stan James operations are primarily online and on mobile though there is a shop estate of over 90 betting shops in the UK. Stan James opened their first shop in Compton, Berkshire in 1973.

StanJames.com is the trading name of SJU Limited and is licensed and regulated by the Government of Gibraltar and the Gambling Commission of Great Britain. The company's online gambling operations are located in Gibraltar. The CEO of StanJames.com is Denis Kelly. The StanJames.com brand is available in markets across the world, with sports and casino customers from over 120 countries worldwide, but they focus in particular on the UK market and UK customers.

In December 2007, the firm bought the Betdirect bookmaking company, which was established in 1998, from 32Red for £5.75 million. The Betdirect operation was merged with Stan James in February 2009. In 2008, they bought the online betting business betterbet.com from the London bookmaker Better. In 2009 Stan James started a cooperation with the Austrian BETKICK Sportwettenservice GmbH, together they found the brand SJBET and SJBET24.com (Internet betting) especially for betting shops in Austria, Germany, and Europe. In May 2010 they bought 27 branches of regional bookmaker Pagebet after the company went bankrupt. In September 2015 Unibet Group plc acquired the online gambling business of Stan James Group plc together with full rights and assets.

Partnerships

StanJames.com have been present in several emerging markets where they have operated under alternative brands in partnership with local companies. These include ‘Goldenpark.com’ in Spain, where StanJames.com partnered with the Spanish land-based casino Group MGA; ‘Racing2Day’ in the United States, where they are part of a limited partnership licensed by the Oregon Racing Commission; and ‘Betpack’ in Ireland, which was created in 2009 to offer online betting and gaming to the betting shop network of the same name.

Sports sponsorships

StanJames.com have been involved in numerous marketing campaigns since the online business was conceived in the late 1990s. including the Stan James World Matchplay from 2000 to 2010, during which time the event grew in size and stature to become the second most important event in darts.

StanJames.com have been notable supporters of British horse racing. The company sponsored the ‘Stan James Guineas Festival’ at Newmarket Racecourse from 2006 to 2010, and the King George Chase at Kempton Park from 2005 to 2008. Presently, StanJames.com sponsor ‘Stan James Champion Hurdle’ at the Cheltenham Festival. The Stan James Champion Hurdle is the final race in the ‘Road To Cheltenham’ series of races, all of which are sponsored by StanJames.com and have been since 2010. Since the six-race sponsorship began, Cheltenham Racecourse footfall and television viewer ratings have increased year-on-year for the Stan James Champion Hurdle.

Marketing campaigns

In 2012, StanJames.com launched the ‘Who are you with?’ advertising campaign. The campaign revolved around two characters called Stan and James who are best friends but completely opposite characters, notably when it comes to having a bet. The campaign’s strapline is ‘Who are you with?’, which is intended to provoke customers to align themselves with either Stan or James, as well as making the suggestion they should join StanJames.com.