BoyleSports Growth and Spending Spree Continues Apace
Author:
Roy Brindley
Irish independent bookmaker, BoyleSports has purchased Peruvian sports betting portal Timberazo for an undisclosed sum. Linkedin states the new purchase is a seven-year-old company that employs between 11 and 50 staff and is situated on the outskirts of Lima.
Inside one of BoyleSports plush and modern Irish betting shops. ?Brindley
Founded in 1982 by John Boyle, BoyleSports is Ireland’s second-largest betting group. It currently operates 334 betting shops on the island. The company employs over 2,700 staff across Ireland, the UK, Gibraltar, Manilla and South Africa.
Large Footprint That Continues to Grow
BoyleSports, with its roots in traditional betting shops, continues to increase its footprint in the UK and Northern Ireland. In mid-2020 the company purchased 33 Northern Irish betting shops from William Hill. In September of the same year, Boylesports acquired six shops formerly owned by HughesBet Bookmakers.
BoyleSports entered the UK market in 2019 with the purchase of the Wilf Gilbert group of 13 betting shops. Last week it acquired another bookmaking chain. Nine LewisBet shops in the Manchester area have now been rebranded as BoyleSports shops. The latest acquisitions mean BoyleSports now operates 44 betting shops in Great Britain.
The company has previously stated its intention to launch a Kenyan and South African gambling subsidiary by 2023. A 2022 story in the Irish Independent suggested BoyleSports was examining making a new entry into the online gambling markets of the Netherlands and Canada.
New Helmsman to Chart a Path
Despite its continuing growth, BoyleSports has endured some bumps in the road. In November 2022, the company was hit with a ￡2.8 million fine by the Gambling Commission after an assessment by the industry regulator found a series of money laundering failures.
In April 2021 BoyleSports appointed Mark Kemp – formerly MD of the UK’s Tote Group – as its CEO. He departed the company within a year, and BoyleSports was without a leader for five months. Former William Hill director Vlad Kaltenieks, who only entered the gambling industry in 2016, is now in the BoyleSports hot seat.
His tenure comes at a time when the Irish Gambling Regulation Bill, promising “transformative legislation will repeal existing laws governing gambling in Ireland and provide for the establishment of a new modern and comprehensive licensing and regulatory regime,” makes its way through the parliamentary process.
Furthermore, newspaper reports and rumors persistently suggest BoyleSports could be preparing for its sale. Entain PLC, the company that currently owns Ladbrokes, Coral, bwin, Sportingbet, partypoker, partycasino, Foxy and Gala Bingo, is cited as a potential buyer.
