Star Sports Review 2024

Star Sports started life as Star Racing in 1999 and was the brainchild of on-course bookmaker Ben Keith, who has built a reputation as a fearless layer, especially on-course at big horse racing festivals like Royal Ascot.

Unlike many big online betting sites, I like that Keith is still very hands-on and remains the face of Star Sports. A very approachable individual, his enthusiasm for sports and sports betting is reflected in the website and app.

Star Sports, as it has been branded since 2009, is based in Brighton and has a small retail holding of 17 ‘luxury’ betting outlets scattered around the country. The online business has also proved successful since its launch in 2018.

I particularly like the Star Sports website and app. The thoughtful layout is uncluttered and clean, making it easy to find the betting market you seek. Star Sports offers betting on all major sports and regularly runs special promotions on significant sports events.

One area that makes Star Sports stand out is its news section, which provides an abundance of informative, well-written news stories, blogs, previews, and a fascinating video series on personalities in the betting world.

I often spend too much time in this area of the website, but it’s certainly time well spent.

Star Sports Sign Up Offer

When opening a betting account with Star Sports, new customers can claim up to £25 in free bets and 25 free spins on the online slot title Gold Horsey Winner if their first bet doesn't win. No bonus code is required, which makes things less complicated.

This promotion does not strike me as the most generous, but it is a concession all the same, and the overall quality of the Star Sports website and app gives some compensation for new customers.

An essential condition that new customers need to understand is that the qualifying bet must be placed at odds of evens (2.0) or bigger and settled on the same day as registration. 

Star Sports are only offering half of your stake back as a free bet up to a maximum of £25, so think carefully if you plan to stake more than £50 on your qualifying wager.

Please read the terms and conditions attached to new customer welcome offers.

Star Sports Promotions for Existing Customers

Promotions for existing customers can be seasonal, but I have always found something interesting when browsing Star Sports promotions. Many are based on the same format as the welcome offer, and money back as a free bet is always thankfully received.

Star Sports promotions are displayed on the rolling banners at the top of the website and app’s home page, and it takes just seconds to read through the latest offers.

Star Sports Football Promotions

Football accumulator fans will find the football rewards promotion attractive. Once you have placed five or more football accumulators worth at least £10 each between Monday and Sunday, a free £10 bet will be credited to your account on the Monday following the qualifying week.

Doubles and upwards qualify for this promotion, but the minimum odds for each multiple bet are 2/1 (3.0). Build-a-Bet wagers and perms are not included in this promotion, and the free bets expire after seven days.

Another bonus is 50% back as a free bet up to £25 on losing correct score, first goal scorer, and anytime goal scorer bets if a goal is scored after 90 minutes. Free bets will be credited within 24 hours and expire after seven days.

That's a good enough collection of offers to rival most football betting sites in my experience.

Star Sports Horse Racing Promotions

Best odds guaranteed (BOG) is a standard feature for all UK and Ireland horse racing at Star Sports and is valid from 9 a.m. every morning. I view BOG as one of the most valuable concessions available, and horse racing betting sites that offer the service have to be the first port of call.

For those new to online betting, BOG is a no-lose option for users betting on horse racing. If you take an early price and the SP is bigger, the bet will be settled at the more advantageous price. If the SP is shorter, you still get paid out at the bigger price taken when the bet was struck.

Star Sports also offer money-back on multiple races daily. Just check the promotions bar at the top of the page to see which races are covered by the promotion, where Star Sports will give you 50% of your stake back as a free bet, up to £25, if your selection finishes second.

Finally, you'll occasionally earn free spins for online slots at Star Sports' by betting on a designated race meeting most days of the week.

More Star Sports Sports Betting Offers

BOG is also standard for UK and Ireland greyhound racing, and fans of ‘the dogs’ will also like the split-second promotion offered by Star Sports.

If your greyhound finishes second in any race with a minimum of five runners at a specified meeting, you will get 50% of your stake back as a free bet.

Depending on the time of year, there is money back as a free bet of up to £100 promotions on many other sports, such as tennis, golf, darts, and major American sports, with Star Sports offering to return 50% of your stake as a free bet if your selection loses a tennis match in a final set tie breaker as an example.

The promotions for USA sports centre around extra periods in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. Although these are relatively rare occurrences, they happen, and it is always pleasing to get some of your stake money back when your bet has gone down.

In-Play Betting Options & Features

To discover what in-play markets are available at Star Sports, there is an in-play tab at the top of each website page. This tab takes users to a detailed list of sports events where in-play betting is available.

It's fairly well laid out as far as live betting sites go, but navigation from one event to the next is a little clunky. 

During my review, I spotted the odds being updated regularly and markets not being suspended for too long while the event was taking place. 

Unfortunately, Star Sports are one of those betting sites with live streaming that only offer streams of racing and greyhounds. For other sports, you'll find in-play graphics painting a picture of the action.

The Star Sports bet builder feature is available for all major European football leagues. Build-a-Bet is the Star Sports version of this ever-more-popular form of betting, and it can be accessed at the top of the betting options on individual football matches.

Bet builders, predominantly used in football, allow fans to predict a series of outcomes in the same match. It is an exciting and potentially rewarding way of betting on football, and bet builder sites are pretty widespread.

I have found this feature on Star Sports easy to use. As you add your predictions, the potential returns to a £1 stake are displayed at the foot of the website page with details of the selections made.

Once all match predictions have been entered, they can be added to the betslip, where the required stakes can be entered. Many options are available, and football fans with an opinion will not be lacking in choice.

Sports events where build-a-bet betting is available are marked by a B logo next to individual matches' dates and start times.

Depositing & Withdrawing at Star Sports

Star Sports Mobile Betting Review

The Star Sports mobile app is as easy to use as the desktop site, although there has been a lag before the content is displayed on occasion.

The app menus are easy to navigate, and placing bets is fast and reliable. The picture quality on the live streaming of events is good, and it is free to use in most instances simply by logging into the Star Sports app.

Overall, as far as betting apps go, Star Sports' app is adequate, and I have had no significant problems using my Star Sports app on mobile devices.