- Editorial3.00
Score3.00
Ken Howells Review: Our Tests & Real User Ratings (2025)
Ken Howells is just one of two brand names that sit under the umbrella of Targetlocal Limited (UKGC: 422). Far from a household brand name, it provides a sportsbook and casino to customers.
In this review, our expert team has conducted a full evaluation, including signing up, depositing, placing bets, and withdrawing real funds across their platforms, providing you with transparent insights to help you decide if Ken Howells is the right choice for your betting needs.
Pros
- Withdrawal Time: 38 Minutes in Our Test
- Excellent Array of Sports
- Telephone Contact Available
Cons
- Only Debit Card Deposits
- Customer Service Lacking
Recommended Alternatives
- Editorial4.00
- Trustpilot3.70 (140 reviews)
- Score3.90
- Withdrawal Time: 2 Minutes (Our Test)
- Low Betting Margins: 5.29%
- Brand New UK Betting Site (May 2025)
- Editorial5.00
- Users2.33 (3 reviews)
- Trustpilot4.00 (1.8k reviews)
- Google Play2.40 (17 reviews)
- Score3.75
- Withdrawal Time: 11 Minutes (Our Test)
- Low Betting Margins: 4.79%
- Great For Horse Racing Betting
- Editorial3.00
- Trustpilot2.10 (86 reviews)
- App Store3.20 (5k reviews)
- Score2.83
- Withdrawal Time: 36 Minutes (Our Test)
- £1 Minimum Deposit
- 20+ Sports Available
Ken Howells Overall Score
| Bonus | 2 |
|---|---|
| Sportsbook | 4 |
| Casino | 3 |
| Customer Support | 1 |
| Payment | 2 |
| Licensing Safety | 3 |
| Design and Usability | 3 |
| Overall | 3 |
Considering Ken Howells only launched as a digital presence in 2025, the offering is solid. There are plenty of areas for it to improve o,n though, which is perhaps expected. What it goes on to become will be defined by whether or not they are bothered about moving beyond the "average" label, which is what we'd give them in the here and now.
We can only judge what is in front of us, though. Where Ken Howells does well is in the sports betting space. You've got a strong array of sports to choose from, with excellent market depth propping those sports up, and competitive betting margins of 6.11% as well.
The casino is very much in the "alright" category. If you're a sports bettor who enjoys a dabble on a casino, then it probably works more than adequately for you. If you are a casino-first punter, then you will likely find it falls short of your expectations.
The other areas of note are spread across responsible gambling, customer service and payment options. There are positives and negatives to all of those areas, which we cover in more detail in their respective sections.
As a headline, though, the approach to responsible gambling is probably the weakest area of the site. We could go hard on the banking options too, however, instant deposits and withdrawals back in our account inside the hour help to offset the lack of choice.
About Ken Howells
There is a strong chance that you have barely heard of Ken Howells bookmaker, which is registered to the UK Gambling Commission under licence 422, Targetlocal Limited. In an ever-competitive market, it would be easy to assume it is another of the production-line bookmakers you come across, but it is far from that.
Ken Howells is a third-generation family-run bookie, first founded in 1963. With a bricks and mortar approach combined with a presence at various racecourses, it is fair to suggest it has been slow to react to the boom of online bookmaking. That has now changed with the launch of its online offering.
Is Ken Howells Safe and Legit?
🔒 Ken Howells UKGC Licence: 422
Ken Howells might be a new entrant to the online betting market, but it has a strong history to its brand, dating back to the 60s, with personal touch and customer loyalty claimed to be at its heart.
With Targetlocal Limited owning the site, and it having licence arrangements with the UKGC as far back as 2009, it is very much a site that is safe to play with.
📊 Ken Howells Trustpilot Rating: N/A
At the time of writing, there is no Trustpilot information available for Ken Howells. What we can read into a little bit, though, is the Google reviews of the Welsh-based bookmaker. There aren't loads of reviews, which always brings the caveat of taking the rating with a pinch of salt, but a 3.3 out of five rating is very much middle of the road.
This score is made up of a real blend of reviews, ranging from one star up to five, which isn't uncommon. What it does suggest is that the experience at Ken Howells varies by user, whilst it can serve as reassurance that it's at least a safe operator to bet with.
💰 Has Ken Howells Been Fined by the UKGC?
No. Ken Howells and parent company Targetlocal Limited both have a clean bill of health where regulatory action by the UKGC is concerned.
All things considered, from a legislative perspective, there is no reason you should be concerned with betting at Ken Howells.
Ken Howells Deposit Methods
The Ken Howells payment options are pretty poor, in truth. There is no dressing it up. Customers only have one choice of deposit method, which is via a debit card, whilst the minimum deposit limit of £10 and maximum of £5,000 is hardly anything to write home about either.
On the bright side, we navigated through the deposit process without any hiccups and funds were available instantly. This though is expected, so it isn't exactly a positive.
| Payment Method | Min Deposit | Max Deposit | Deposit Fee | Processing Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Visa | £10 | £5,000 | No fee | Instant |
 Mastercard | £10 | £5,000 | No fee | Instant |
How to Deposit At Ken Howells
In order to get started with Ken Howells, you will need to deposit funds to your account. You can follow our step-by-step process on doing so below:
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Tap the 'Deposit' Button
In the top site header, the red bar that runs across the top of the page, hit the grey 'Deposit' button.
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Input Your Deposit Amount
Ken Howells' deposit methods are currently limited to card only, which means you don't need to make a selection where the payment method is concerned, although the option to do so still appears. Ignore this.
Head to the 'Amount' line and key in your desired deposit amount. This has to be between £10 and £5,000.
Before proceeding, you will need to acknowledge that you have read the terms and conditions associated with depositing funds. If you are happy, tick the box.
Hit the 'Make Deposit' button.
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Confirm Your Deposit
You will now be faced with a pop-up box advising you of your chosen deposit. Providing you are happy with the details, hit the 'Confirm Deposit' button.
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Enter Your Payment Details
Before proceeding with your deposit, you will also need to input your payment details. Input the relevant information and hit the black 'Pay' button.
Depending on your bank, you may need to go through an app verification process to confirm the deposit.
You will see a screen confirming your deposit, with options presented at the bottom to navigate back to the main betting site.
Ken Howells Withdrawal Methods
The range of withdrawal options at Ken Howells is limited to just debit cards at the moment, which is not great from a user perspective.
The process of withdrawing funds is at least simple and fee-free, though. It is timely too; during our test withdrawals, we made our withdrawal request at 20:30 and funds landed back in our bank at 21:08. That puts the processing time at just 38 minutes.
That is not as quick as what some brands deliver, but it's certainly more than acceptable.
| Payment Method | Min Withdrawal | Max Withdrawal | Withdrawal Fee | Withdrawal Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visa | £10 | £25,000 | No fee | 38 minutes in our test |
| Mastercard | £10 | £25,000 | No fee | 0-3 business days |
How to Withdraw From Ken Howells
At some point, you will ideally be in a position where you wish to withdraw funds from your account. The Ken Howells withdrawal process is outlined below:
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Open Your Account Section
In the top right of the header bar you will see your account icon, symbolised by the grey head and shoulders image. Click it to open your menu.
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Hit 'Withdrawal' in the Menu
In the menu page that appears, locate the 'Withdrawal' option and click it. For us, this was the fifth option in the list.
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Set Your Withdrawal Amount
The 'Withdraw' screen is simplistic. You have a dropdown option available to select your payment type and specific method, however, the first is limited to debit cards so there is only one option under the dropdown at present.
As for the specifics, you are limited by the methods you have used to deposit funds, which means your choice will quite plausibly be limited to one anyway.
Instead, focus on the 'Amount' line. Key in your chosen withdrawal amount, which has to be between £10 and £25,000.
The 'Withdraw' button will turn red. Hit it.
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Confirm Your Withdrawal
You will see a pop-up screen appear. Once here, providing you are satisfied with the amount you requested to withdraw, confirm your withdrawal.
A screen confirming your withdrawal is pending will then appear.
Ken Howells Sportsbook Review
The first thing to note on the Ken Howells sportsbook is the look and feel. It blends simplicity and premium really nicely, leaving the customer with an easy-to-use platform. This allows for intuitive navigation between sports, simple drill down of markets and makes placing bets effortless.
If we were to pick on a fault in the sportsbook layout, it would be the menu design. There are two factors here that frustrate.
Firstly, sports listed in the "Top Sports" section aren't repeated in the 'A-Z', and, secondly, the A-Z isn't sorted alphabetically, seemingly because the first few sports are dedicated to top sports that aren't captured under the "Top Sports" section.
That's just bizarre and undoes some of the positives around ease of navigation we just referenced; the only reason that point remains true is because of the scrollable horizontal bar that lives in the main sportsbook screen.
The real proof of a sportsbook is what lives in the details. Ken Howells does well in a lot of those factors. All told, there are 42 different sports to bet on, including a strong esports offering that includes games like Counter-Strike and Kings of Glory.
In terms of actual sports, football, horse racing, tennis and basketball complete the Ken Howells' defined 'Top Sports', but lesser followed sports like bandy, volleyball and hurling are all available to wager on as well.
It gives it a really good breadth of sports coverage. Focusing on a couple of those top sports, market depth is decent too.
🏇 Horse Racing
The horse racing provides access to race meets around the world. Malaysia, Germany, Uruguay and South Korea are all examples of the far-flung events covered, alongside UK and Irish meets that are perhaps more expected.
The ability to bet on 'Futures' under a dedicated section is another plus point. The lack of Best Odds Guaranteed, however, goes down as a negative score. We were also unable to pin down any live streaming, which is another black mark.
⚽ Football
On the football side of things, coverage is again pretty good. There are competitions to bet on from close to 100 countries, as well as international and continent-wide club competitions.
These can be explored using the horizontal scroll bar, while a quick reference bet slip can be accessed using the little drop-down arrow alongside the completion name; this allows you to change top line view to your choice of eight markets.
If you want more extensive market depth, then it is a case of drilling into a specific fixture. A Premier League match, for example, boasts around 280 markets when betting days in advance. That market depth grows considerably when kick-off nears, with some fixtures offering in excess of 900 markets. This is definitely up there with the best football bookies.
That strong market choice means that the bet builder functionality is also strong. In-play markets are also available. The in-game match engine and stats, however, aren't fantastic.
All that leaves us to touch on is betting margins. Our tests put them at 6.11%, which is probably a tad ahead of average.
Ken Howells Casino Review
Ken Howells is undoubtedly better known for its sportsbook offering but, despite a 2025 digital launch date, it doesn't miss on the casino side of things either.
Don't get us wrong, it is never going to be close to a market leader in the casino space, but it does boast enough of a well put together games space to appease most average bettors.
In total, there are over 1200 games available to explore, with those games spread across instant wins, megaways and table games. This falls well short of the top casino websites but isn't a disaster.
Providing those games are a variety of software brands, including the well-known Pragmatic Play. That means there are not only a decent number of games but also recognisable brand names too; Starburst, Big Bass Splash and 7 Piggies are good examples of that. You also have a couple of low-stakes options to play.
Alongside that casino offering, there is also a live casino. In that section, you can find a number of roulette, blackjack, baccarat and game show style games.
If you wanted to look for a negative, it is probably found in the inability to browse the games in a particularly smart way. Games are bucketed into different sections but you cannot target specific providers, for example.
Ken Howells Mobile App
A lot of modern-day punters want the option of using a mobile app to bet on. The Ken Howells' mobile app is available across Android and iOS devices. As for a review summary, it is fine.
The design and structure of the app is exactly as per the mobile-friendly website, however, there are still benefits to the app. Namely, it makes signing in slightly slicker and the ability to switch on notifications is a notable addition to the user experience.
Aside from the actual benefits cited above, the sheer availability of a mobile app puts Ken Howells ahead of several players in the market. Even now, in 2025, you will find a host of bookies that choose not to offer a betting app.
Ken Howells Responsible Gambling
The Ken Howells approach to responsible gambling has to be considered poor. There is no reference to any responsible gambling limits during the registration phase, and whilst there is a dedicated section in the site footer, we could never get past a grey loading screen.
Under the account menu, there are a couple of references to tools. These include:
- Reality Check
- Limits
- Timeout
- Self Exclusion
- Product Restriction
Each of the above sections have a very light touch description as to what the tools achieve. There is also a handful of external signposting in the site footer, including to the likes of GamCare and GamStop, but purely via logo inclusion.
The inability to access the aforementioned responsible gambling section means we're unable to see how deep the layering of detail is.
Ken Howells Customer Support
The 'About Us' section of the Ken Howells website cites that it prides itself "on offering excellent personal service" but this is clearly tailored towards an in-person experience. From a remote perspective, your contact options are email and telephone.
Customer service hours run from 10:00 to 20:00 on emails and from midday to 20:00 for phone lines, with both answered seven days a week.
The inclusion of a phone number is quite old school, but actually quite a powerful contact tool for when you encounter genuine problems. The absence of a FAQ is really poor, though, and the top operators do tend to operate a live chat nowadays too; it feels like Ken Howells are some way off providing something like the latter.
| Chat | No |
|---|---|
| [email protected] | |
| Phone | 01269 597844 |
Opening hours
| 7 days a week | 10:00 - 20:00 |
|---|
How to Get Started at Ken Howells
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Navigate to Ken Howells
The first thing you have to do to sign up at Ken Howells is to head over to its website; this can be found at www.kenhowells.com.
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Hit "Register"
In the top right corner of the site, you will see a white "Register" button. Hit it.
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Input Your Personal Details
Under the 'Create Your Account' section, you have to enter a range of personal information. The required details are:
- Title
- First Name
- Last Name
- Date of Birth
- Mobile Number
- Address including postcode
Once the above information has been input, hit the red "Next" button.
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Create Your Key Information
Next up, you have to create your actual account information. This involves submitting your email address, followed by creating a username and password. You will also need to approve terms and conditions, providing you are happy to do so with a tick box.
Once completing the above, further down the page, there are a another trio of tick boxes that need your attention. These outline your contact preferences for sports, casino and virtual sports.
Hit "Done" when complete.
A confirmation screen will appear.
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Activate Your Account
You should receive an email shortly after completing the previous step; this landed in our inbox almost instantly.
There is a bit of blurb about Ken Howells in the email but all you need to worry about is the longer link halfway down the email; this is your verification link. Click it.
On doing so, you will see a "Success" screen appear.
You can now utilise the red "Login" button to truly get started.
User Reviews
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