An iconic gateway to the Mediterranean, in the southwestern most corner, the once proclaimed long-forgotten British-owned backwater of Gibraltar now glowers in belligerence at all those who had all but cast it aside.

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The story about the reawakening of a sleeping giant and how the ‘rock’ emerged from what could only be described as a light doze makes for fascinating bedtime reading. Indeed, actually seeing the place in the flesh you are soon of the realisation that Gibraltar has had more than its fair share of beauty sleep.

Once predominantly a sole stronghold of military might, this strategically positioned annexe had a number of advantages; today British armed forces still use this as a training base. Also a base for what some may consider a strange quirk; monkeys right at the top of the rock, this certainly adds to the charm. However, little over a decade ago, one man considered a luminary solely motivated the upward surge of the economy.

Betting Shops Croydon Casinos Croydon. We've found 41 Licensed Gambling Premises in Croydon. They include Stan James (#915 Betting Shop) as at 14th Jan 2011 and run by Stan James (Abingdon) Limited, Coral Racing Ltd (#2360 Betting Shop) as at 9th Apr 2011 and run by Coral Racing Limited, William Hill (#2752 Betting Shop) as at 9th Apr 2011 and run by William Hill Organisation Limited, William. The Stan James brand began life in 1973 as a single betting shop in Wantage, Oxfordshire. citation needed 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. In 1973 Stan James was founded as a single betting shop located in Compton, Berkshire (in South East region of England, UK). There was no actual person named Stan James behind the company; this is rather a corporate name that was derived from the first names of its three founders Steve Fisher, Ann Fisher and James Holder. London Betting Shops; Manchester Betting Shops; Newcastle Betting Shops; National Bookmakers. Betfred; Coral; Ladbrokes; Paddy Power; Stan James; Totesport; William Hill; Search for: Results Map. All the shop locations for Stan James, you can continue to filter further by entering a town or postcode in the search bar area. Stan James has come a long way in these 40 years of operating. Since it started out as a single betting shop in the UK in 1973, the company has managed to distinguish the Stan James brand from other high street bookmakers in Britain. Today Stan James is on a mission to grow even further, but in an ethical and transparent manner.

The Victor Chandler Effect

When the British businessman, Victor Chandler, identified an opportunity and re-located his entire bookmaking operation to Gibraltar in the late nineties, it wasn’t without its fair share of challenges. Obtaining a betting license for the region was the first obstacle to overcome, while the logistics of such a move was not dissimilar to a major military operation.

This came at a time when Gibraltar was in dire need of a facelift. The place solely relied on tourism for its income, while unemployment levels were at an all time high. Bringing with him in excess of 80 initial employees, Victor Chandler became the first bookmaker to move everything solely online.

It meant that a number of personnel were needed for the different functions across a number of departments and as a result, Gibraltar became noticeably more busy. Chandler meanwhile, had started to attract envious glances from competitors who realised the tax benefits that the company was receiving.

Not long after, other companies began to follow. Keen to not be left behind, William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral, Stan James all moved from the UK to reap the rewards. While some still kept bases in the UK, it was clear to see that the largest part of their respective operations was in Gibraltar.

It would be easy to imagine Chandler sitting behind his desk stroking a cat; an almost real-life Godfather of sorts, however, as opposed to the movie everything here was legal and above board. Despite this, what Chandler achieved during his tenure however, was still of the proportions worthy of a box office movie.

As more and more gambling companies moved in, the fortunes of Gibraltar began to change. Bringing significant levels of employment to the area, this led to a revamp of the infrastructure with new hotels, bars and shops created in order to meet the needs of the many employees who were flocking to the colony in their hundreds.

A stark contrast to the commuter town in next door neighbour Spain; La Linea, a typically struggling fishing town, Gibraltar, almost overnight became a place for the well to do. The salaries offered by the gambling companies in order to attract top talent meant that the economy boomed, with each one competing with one another to hire the best.

Victor Chandler went through various rebrands throughout the early to mid 2000s, before establishing itself as BetVictor with the company the single largest employer on the ‘rock’ with in excess of 400 employees. Victor himself has made one of the biggest fortunes from gambling.

Establishment Of An Online Gambling Stronghold

While Victor Chandler can take credit for initiating an upward surge of a revolution in Gibraltar, it could be argued that others definitely played their part.

Attracting a host of other companies, perhaps one that does not get the recognition is Stan James, who are now part of Unibet following a takeover by the Swedish company (and no longer exist as Stan James). The brand actually has humble beginnings, starting as a single betting shop in Oxfordshire in 1973 and like Chandler, steadily grew before migrating south.

It was arguably the move of the ‘big three’ bookmakers (William Hill, Coral and Ladbrokes), which you could claim really helped to position Gibraltar as a leading gambling authority though. When each one followed suit and moved a portion of their companies to the British colony, it became steadily obvious that this wasn’t built on a house of cards.

Although each company retained bases in the UK (William Hill adding further locations), Gibraltar became one of the main draws for existing and new employees, seeking a change in lifestyle comprising 300 days of sunshine every year, a more relaxed pace and being only seven a mile ferry ride from Morocco.

William Hill, however, was relatively smaller in headcount especially when comparing it to BetVictor, while Coral and Ladbrokes had slightly more people. A lot of this is to do with the fact that each company had various functions elsewhere; for example a significant amount of Coral’s PR department was and still is based in London.

Entain (GVC) influence on Gibraltar

Without a doubt, one of the biggest gambling organisations in the world with in excess of 25 brands underneath it, Entain PLC (the new name for GVC Holdings from 2020) are a powerhouse and have a significant grip on Gibraltar. Like the colony that they appear to dominate however, they were once a humble entity.

Founded in Luxembourg in 2004, at a time when Gibraltar was just starting to reap the benefits brought to it by the gambling industry, Entain had undoubtedly identified this as a highly attractive hotbed.

While they are a global force, the fact remains that the majority of the companies that they own which are based in Gibraltar serve a wide range of markets across multiple territories, though they are not the only ones.

Although there is no apparent monkey business, it is clear that Entain is the King Kong of the ‘Rock’ and can definitely beat its chest to the sound of its orchestra of businesses clearly making music in the background.

In 2016, the acquisition of Bwin, who are also based in Gibraltar really started to put GVC on the map, having already being a co-owner of Sporting Bet along with William Hill, though they weren’t done there.

Later that year, various social circles around the bars of Gibraltar were abuzz with the news of a rumoured merger of two of its heavyweights. Coral and Ladbrokes had reportedly been in talks and whispers of potential redundancies and what this meant for the futures of various employees became a hot topic in a place that was dominated by the online gambling industry.

When this eventually went through in 2016, life in the Gibraltar offices of Ladbrokes and Coral remained largely unchanged. Indeed, these were still separate entities and each one retained their own premises, at least for a while.

However, GVC was keeping an eye on the situation. A little over a year later (December 2017), the company swooped, acquiring the newly formed Ladbrokes-Coral for a cool £4 billion after six months of rumours about a new owner. This time, there were substantial changes. Both brands effectively moved under one roof in Gibraltar, despite still remaining separate.

GVC took advantage of being based in Gibraltar to go shopping further, adding recruits from other companies as it embarked on a mission to try and blow their competition out of the water.

Software Providers On The Doorstep

Another important element in the online gambling industry, which is often largely overlooked is the software providers and players especially do not realise that games are mostly developed by third party companies.

Arguably the most notable is Playtech who were one of the first to establish themselves on the ‘Rock’ and take advantage of the amount of online gambling firms moving their operations. Indeed, this led to a lucrative deal with giant William Hill taking advantage of their proximity with each other. Subsequently, Playtech grew its portfolio of clients, firmly cementing itself as one of the most popular software providers in Gibraltar.

In addition, other top names such as Yggdrasil Gaming and Pragmatic Play can be credited for having strategic bases in Gibraltar with these geographically convenient software providers and online gambling firms creating idyllic synergystic alliances with each other.

Having software providers in Gibraltar have proven to be a huge advantage for the online gambling industry and many do not realise why. The fact is that Gibraltar, compared to somewhere like London is considerably smaller which makes it an ideal place for companies to do business. Add into the equation that the relaxed pace of the day and the surroundings provide perfect complementary factors, it means that deals can be struck relatively easy.

Brexit And Gibraltar’s Online Gambling landscape

Brexit was always going to cause some kind of disruption for Gibraltar, especially for those companies who had operations in multiple territories. While those companies such as BetVictor who were solely based there made it their staunch goal to make sure that Brexit would not affect them and continue to grow, there were others that quite simply could not justify keeping their Gibraltar bases running and subsequently moved for a more favourable deal.

Gibraltar, meanwhile, did not concede this easily. Two companies; 888 and Bet365 were two of those companies considering relocation and they had already found their location. Post Brexit, the growing online gambling region of Malta became increasingly more favourable to online gambling companies for its much better tax benefits and this is something that both 888 and Bet365 were looking into. Bet365 even agreed a €70m promise of sale deal for the acquisition of a new property development in Sliema with the intention of making it is Maltese base.

Gibraltar’s Minister for Gambling, Albert Isola remained reasonably bullish about the situation, stating at the time:

“There is no single risk management solution here as the issues are complex. Bet365 have confirmed directly to us that they remain totally committed to Gibraltar and the entirety of its workforce here. They are not leaving Gibraltar by any stretch of the imagination. Neither do they have to choose between us and Malta. What remains true is that Gibraltar remains the jurisdiction of choice for the most reputable gaming companies in the world. BREXIT isn't going to change that.”

The Future Of The Gambling Industry In Gibraltar

With the situation starting to stabilise somewhat in relation to Brexit, Gibraltar can once again look ahead to the future with a new sense of optimism. A strong indication of how the future appears, is the fact that the Gibraltar based gambling firms are still following an aggressive hiring campaign and this coupled with the creation of new markets and products is a great sign.

In addition to this, the region is also a hotbed for technology; great news for an industry that has unlimited potential to not only grow but also to diversify its product offering; something which the likes of BetVictor have been doing since Chandler moved the company there in the beginning. It would come as little surprise to see more technology companies establish themselves in Gibraltar to really take advantage of what could well be beneficial partnerships for both them and the online casinos themselves.

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What many people do not realise is that Gibraltar also plays home to two real life casinos; both impressive structures and based on the floating tourist resort of Ocean Village. While the online casinos attract players in their millions on a daily basis, these casinos are often always packed with regulars as well as tourists who flock there in their numbers.

The fact is that Gibraltar and gambling is always likely to be synonymous for many more years to come after a successful run of more than two decades. While it might be starting to cast envious glances east across the Mediterranean to its Malta counterpart, it is highly unlikely that there will be a further exodus of companies. You would certainly get long odds on every gambling company pulling out of Gibraltar, however, other global events might just start those dominoes to wobble.

Until Unibet purchased the company for almost £20m back in 2015, Stan James were one of the UK’s most recognised gambling operators. Although never the biggest bookie on the high street, in their prime Stan James were a very popular choice among punters, with a respectable 112 shops dotted all over Britain.

Over the years, Stan James were involved in a number of partnerships and sponsorship deals. The company had a big footprint in UK horse racing, as well as sponsoring World Matchplay darts from 2000 to 2010. They also had several successful marketing campaigns, the ‘Who are you with?’ adverts from 2012 probably being the most memorable.

In their 40+ years of operation, Stan James offered high street, online, mobile and telephone sports betting services, as well as Casino, Games and Poker. Despite no longer being with us, Stan James will always have a place in the hearts of the die hard bettors of Britain.

1973: Steve, Anne, and James

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The Stan James brand started back in 1973 when Steve Fisher and James Holder opened a betting shop in Compton, Berkshire, an area in which many racing trainers were based. The company got their name by combining Steve and his wife Anne’s name to make Stan, with the James part obviously coming from Holder.

In those early days, Stan James set themselves apart by becoming one of the first betting companies to offer a dedicated telephone staking service, which was cutting edge in the 70s, believe it or not. At that time, most bookmakers were only taking bets over the counter, so it put Stan James on the map. The majority of their business was done closer to home, so opening up the telephone service was a breakthrough idea that made their service available countrywide.

The idea really took off, with many other bookies following suit. However, this eventually meant much more competition for telephone bets, and so, with only a few physical shops mostly around Berkshire and Oxfordshire in their portfolio, Stan James decided they needed to expand their high street offering in order to keep up. This led to a healthy period of growth and expansion.

1990: The Birth of Sky Sports

Although things were going very well for Stan James with their business slowly growing, they had a huge breakthrough in 1990 when Sky Sports was born. Sky Sports quickly grew into one of the biggest live broadcast sports services in Britain, and Stan James benefited immensely from it.

Where previously betting on televised events mainly involved horses and football (the big two still to this day), those at the top of the company spotted the opportunity to offer customers the chance to enhance their viewing pleasure by betting on several other events that were now being transmitted live by Sky.

As Sky Sports evolved, so did the range of sports on offer at Stan James. As live TV was introduced into betting shops Stan James made sure to move with the times, offering more markets on more televised sports than ever before and winning themselves plenty of new customers in the process.

1995: The Smart Use of Teletext

Teletext is now a thing of the past, but before the internet Teletext was an excellent way of giving people up-to-date information en masse. Stan James began to advertise their Teletext pages in popular betting papers like Sporting Life and the Racing Post. This got the word out that if bettors loaded up a certain page on the Teletext screen from the comfort of their own homes, they would be able to view live odds on the horses and other events.

With the steady growth in the number of high street shops, the popular telephone betting service, and their excellent use of Teletext, Stan James were gaining a reputation as a unique and forward-thinking company. Most people were unfamiliar with the internet at the time, so it could be argues that Stan James revolutionised betting in the 1990s.

1997: Time to Go Online

The late 1990s and early 2000s saw the internet becoming a feature in more and more people’s homes. The public were going from getting their daily news from the newspapers or the television, to logging in online and checking live information as and when they pleased. For the betting industry, the birth of the internet was about as big a game-changer as could be.

It took a few years for betting companies to really tap into the potential of online gambling, but Stan James were pretty quick out of the blocks. By 1997, much earlier than most of their rivals, the company had their own betting website and started to attract a lot of new customers. Their outstanding telephone service certainly helped them when it came to the internet business as they not only understood how a customer-focused approach would increase satisfaction and hence business, but they also had a customer base used to betting remotely.

The late 1990s represented a time of huge expansion and growth for Stan James. The top brass worked hard to secure mergers and partnerships, while the betting side of things continued to flourish. In the following years, the company would flex its muscles and look for sponsorship opportunities.

2000’s: Sponsorship

Credit: Carine06 Flickr

As the new millennium began Stan James were involved in a number of sports sponsorship deals. The company had a very successful partnership with World Matchplay (darts), with both parties helping promote the other. From Stan James’s takeover as the main sponsor in 2000, the event grew significantly in size and popularity, becoming regarded as the second most significant darts event behind the PDC World Championship. This partnership eventually came to an end in 2010.

From 2005 to 2008, Stan James were the sponsors of the King George VI Chase, another high profile deal. The King George is one of the most popular annual races in Britain, run at Kempton Park each year on Boxing Day, and during their sponsorship tenure the imperious Kauto Star was a winner on three occasions, garnering much press attention.

In 2006, the company also began to sponsor the Guineas Festival. The two day festival at Newmarket features the first two Classics of the flat racing season, the 2,000 Guineas and the 1,000 Guineas, and the Stan James brand name was on the boards until 2010.

It was in 2010 that Stan James dipped their toe in the biggest racing festival of them all: the Cheltenham Festival. The Champion Hurdle, which is the most prestigious hurdle race there is, was Stan James’ target, and they sponsored this opening day race until Unibet took over in 2018.

2007/8: Acquisitions

In 2007, exactly 10 years after first going online, Stan James bought the Betdirect bookmaking company which was considered a real coup at the time. Stan James paid 32Red £5.75m for the betting company which had been established in 1998, and although it took a while it was successfully merged with Stan James in February 2009.

Around the same time, Stan James decided to purchase the online only betting company betterbet.com. They were part of the London-based bookie called Better, and the deal went through in 2008.

2009: Entering Europe

It wasn’t just acquisitions they were interested in though. In 2009, Stan James started a co-operation with BETKICK Sportwettenservice GmbH, an Austrian company, to found SJBET and SJBET24.com. This brand was specifically aimed at the European market, though the UK remained their priority overall. They also entered partnerships in Spain, the US, and Ireland, as they attempted to spread their wings in the quest for ever-greater profits.

Not forgetting their roots on the high street, Stan James pounced quickly to buy 27 high street shops when a company called Pagebet went bankrupt in 2010, further expanding their property portfolio.

2012: Who Are You With?

Just two years later one of their most comprehensive marketing campaigns ever got underway, the memorable “Who are you with?” campaign. It revolved around two characters called Stan (played by TV presenter Anthony Richardson) and James (played by comedian Kevin Dewsbury) who were loosely based on the founders of the company; one bet with his gut, the other with his head. Customers were supposed to choose who they would side with. It was mainly a marketing campaign to direct more people to their website, but there were a series of funny Youtube videos that are still available now.

2015 – Unibet Arrives on the Scene

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As Stan James started to acquire smaller business and become stronger, they themselves became a good prospect for even bigger fish. In 2015, Unibet made a move to purchase Stan James for £19m, taking their full rights and assets in the process. The price was considered very low at the time, even though the deal only included the company’s online operations.

This was the beginning of the end for Stan James, but the shops remained open under the Stan James name initially. Unibet’s plan was to grow Stan James’s online market even further, while also giving Unibet more authenticity to UK customers.

As Unibet took over Stan James’s online business, the company persisted with growing their high street presence. In 2016, Stan James decided bought 37 betting shops from Ladbrokes and Coral who were merging and needed to offload due to competition law.

However, as part of the deal with Unibet, Stan James were only allowed to continue using the brand name for a transitional period, so Steve Fisher needed a new name before being forced to change it. The rebranding to Megabet cost the company around £1m, and due to government’s increase on tax due on Fixed Odds Betting Machines, roughly a quarter of their shops had to close.

2018: Stan James Online Ceases Trading

Credit: Jaggery Geograph

After 20+ years of online service, the Stan James website officially closed in 2018. It was a pretty smooth transition, with Stan James customers simply being moved over to Unibet. The Stan James website had been continuously slimmed down since Unibet took over in 2015, and before their closure was complete the Stan James name was still visible on Unibet’s website.

Stan James was eventually swallowed up into Unibet, before the Kindred Group became the parent company for Unibet and all of their other brands, and Stan James was no more. But they had left a lasting legacy.

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In their prime, Stan James were one of the UK’s hottest betting companies. They may have come to somewhat of an anticlimactic end, but their impact certainly shaped the gambling industry for a time, and the brand lives on in a way, through the high street stores now known as Megabet.