Ken Howells

Ken Howells Sister Sites 2026

MessageBet

We’re listing MessageBet here because it’s the only other member of the Ken Howells sister sites family, but we’re not giving it a full profile or review because it isn’t really an online betting company. Instead, as the name implies, it’s a service where you can place bets via messaging. It used to be an SMS-based system years ago, but it’s moved with the times and now allows customers to place bets via WhatsApp or Telegram. MessageBet describes itself as “quick and personal,” although how personal a faceless text betting service can possibly be is open to question. Unusually for a betting company of this type, MessageBet comes with promotions, including an ongoing offer of 5% monthly cashback on losses. It claims to have a betting volume of over £50m, but we think this includes bets placed at Ken Howells rather than those made exclusively on the platform.

Can Ken Howells Be Trusted?

★★★★★

Ken Howells is a 4-star trusted betting site.

Ken Howells Review 2026

Ken Howells has existed as an in-person and phone-in betting company in Wales for more than sixty years. It’s had a website for at least fifteen years, but until 2025, the website only existed to promote the telephone betting service. Everything changed in mid-2025 when, out of the blue, this veteran company linked up with EveryMatrix to add a whole new online sportsbook and casino service to its proposition. Is it too late in the day for this old dog to take a bite out of the betting market, or will its experience give it an advantage over its younger rivals?

Ken Howells Welcome Bonuses

Having a casino is a brand new thing for Ken Howells, but it’s still a betting company at heart, and it always will be. Most people who come to Ken Howells will do so to bet on sports, and if it’s their first time, they can claim a £25 free bet when they sign up and stake £50 or more. The qualifying bet has to be made within seven days of registering an account, and has to be placed on an event with odds of 2.0 or greater in order to trigger the bonus. It’s a high price for a sports betting site to place on a first deposit offer, and we don’t think it’s particularly attractive.

If you’re put off by the price of entry for the sports betting bonus and you decide to take the casino welcome promotion instead, it’s fifty free spins for depositing and staking £10 on any slots game within seven days of joining Ken Howells. If you win anything from those spins, you’ll have to wager it x35 before you can withdraw it, and you won’t be allowed to withdraw more than £50 from the promotion, regardless of how much you might win.

Other Promotions

The whole concept of being an iGaming site is still new to Ken Howells, so we didn’t expect it to come straight out of the gate with massive bonuses, and it hasn’t. There’s a best odds guarantee on all UK and Irish horse racing, which is the same claim that dozens of online bookies make, and they can’t all be right. Other than that, Ken Howells also pays “double results,” recognising winners on both a first-past-the-post and official race result basis. Again, that’s an increasingly common offer you’ll find available at many a modern betting site.

What are the Pros and Cons of Ken Howells?

Pros: Ken Howells offers telephone-based customer support during core hours, which is a facility that often feels like it’s going out of fashion elsewhere. There are small welcome promotions available, and the casino that goes with the sportsbook is fairly strong.

Cons: While it’s nice to have a welcome bonus, we think the cost of acquiring it should probably be lower than £50. There’s no live chat customer support, so there’s no way to get live assistance out of hours after the phones have closed for the day. Withdrawals take a minimum of three days to be processed, which is uncompetitive by modern standards.

Top Slots and Games

It would be remiss of us to get straight into the slots, because that’s not what Ken Howells is about. Instead, let’s talk about horse racing. Like DragonBet, Ken Howells is a proudly Welsh betting company, and covers more Welsh racing than most UK-based bookies will. The coverage of football and tennis is also extensive, and the site also has a dedicated area for betting on basketball. That’s not something you’d necessarily expect from a UK-based bookie, so it catches the eye. All of the usual sports are also covered in the full A-Z, and Ken Howells is happy to accept wagers on e-sports, entertainment and political matters, too.

The casino, we’re happy to confirm, contains all of the popular slots that you’d want and probably expect it to. Starburst is the overall number one slots game here, which should surprise nobody, and it’s followed by Big Bass Splash, Big Bass Vegas: Double Down Deluxe, and Big Bass: Reel Repeat. In fact, the entire Big Bass series from Pragmatic Play is very much in the spotlight at Ken Howells, and it’s a large collection. Gates of Olympus, Ice Mints, Sugar Rush 1000 and The Dog House: Royal Hunt appear in the “Top Games” section too, with Pragmatic Play appearing to get special treatment from Ken Howells. Over in the live casino, top game shows like Sweet Bonanza: Candyland and Mega Wheel are available alongside all your traditional favourites.

Withdrawal Processing and Support

Brand-new casinos and betting sites should include all the latest payment methods, but Ken Howells doesn’t. Instead, players are limited to using their debit card or asking for a withdrawal via Trustly, with no support for e-wallets or other alternatives. Adding to the problem, the process isn’t quick. All withdrawal requests at Ken Howells are subject to a minimum three-day checking process, after which further delays are possible. Basically, don’t be surprised if you have to wait a full week for your money to show up in your account.

Customer Support and Licensing

Between midday and 8pm (weird hours), Ken Howells can be contacted via telephone on 01269 597844. Email support is available between 10am and 8pm at support@kenhowells.com. Outside those hours, you’re on your own, and your problems will have to wait until the morning. Ken Howells operates subject to the UK Gambling Commission licence that Targetlocal Ltd holds under account number 422, which is the same licence that covers the Ken Howells sister sites.

Ken Howells – The Verdict

We’re not sure what suddenly prompted Ken Howells to enter the online betting market in 2025 after existing outside it for so long, but we think this is a mostly fine first attempt at establishing an internet betting presence. We like having telephone support available, the coverage of the sportsbook is good, and the casino games are a decent selection. The bonuses aren’t anything special, though, and the slow withdrawals are likely to put more than a few people off who might otherwise have signed up and given the brand a try. Without improvements, we suspect the in-person and telephone betting aspects of the service will continue to be more popular.