BoyleSports is a leading Irish gambling company, renowned for its extensive product offerings that include sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Founded in 1982, the company has grown exponentially over the years, with over 320 retail branches spread across Ireland and the UK. This article provides an in-depth look into BoyleSports, its history, achievements, controversies, and more.
History of BoyleSports
BoyleSports was established by John Boyle in 1982 when he opened his first betting shop in Markethill, Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland. Initially starting with a single outlet, the company expanded its reach in 1989 by opening five outlets in Drogheda. By 2002, another 14 new shops were opened, and the organization had 77 shops by August 2004. The 100th store milestone was achieved in 2006, marking a significant moment in the company's growth.
Throughout the years, BoyleSports made strategic acquisitions to further strengthen its presence in the market. In February 2011, the company took over 17 new shops from Celtic Bookmakers, saving 100 jobs. Later that year, BoyleSports saved 65 more jobs by acquiring 15 William Hill shops.
In July 2017, Conor Gray succeeded founder John Boyle as BoyleSports CEO, while Boyle assumed the role of Executive Chairman. The company continued to expand its retail and online businesses, reaching the 250th shop milestone in September 2018 in Kilcullen, Co. Kildare.
BoyleSports entered the UK retail market in June 2019 by acquiring independent bookmaker Wilf Gilbert, who ran 13 betting shops in the Midlands. In January 2020, the company expanded its operation in Northern Ireland by acquiring 33 William Hill shops, making it Ireland's biggest retail bookmaker.
Mark Kemp, managing director of the UK Tote Group, was announced as the new CEO of BoyleSports in 2021 following a company restructure. Former CEO Conor Gray's role was changed to commercial director.
In November 2021, BoyleSports announced an acquisition deal with independent bookmakers, Tully. The deal included the acquisition of Tully's telephone betting business and ten retail venues, maintaining BoyleSports' position as the largest independent betting operator in Ireland with 268 retail betting shops.
In February 2022, it was announced that Kemp would be leaving the company at the end of July 2022, with John Boyle and Conor Gray due to pick up executive roles following his departure.
Horse Racing Sponsorships & Achievements
Since 2010, BoyleSports Champion Chase Day has run at the Punchestown Festival each year. The prize money for the feature race, the Grade 1 BoyleSports Champion Chase, increased from €140,000 to €300,000 between 2010 and 2019. Previous winners include Big Zeb, Sizing Europe, Sprinter Sacre, and Un De Sceaux.
In 2014, BoyleSports became the headline sponsor of the most prestigious race in the Irish National Hunt calendar, the Irish Grand National, held at Fairyhouse Racecourse each Easter Monday. In August 2016, it was announced that the prize money would be increased to €500,000, making it the richest National Hunt race in Ireland.
In January 2020, BoyleSports announced that they had pledged €2,000,000 in prize money to extend their sponsorship of the BoyleSports Irish Grand National for a further four years, maintaining its title as the richest race in the National Hunt calendar.
BoyleSports and Irish national broadcaster RTE announced in October 2014 that BoyleSports would become the sponsor of RTE Racing programs across TV, radio, and online in a deal worth €1,000,000. In 2017, an extension of their partnership was announced.
Football Sponsorships & Achievements
In June 2019, BoyleSports announced a two-season deal to become the main sponsor of EFL Championship side Birmingham City. The club stated that this was their biggest sponsorship deal in over a decade. The announcement was made at the official unveiling of the club's home kit at the Birmingham Back to Backs tourist attraction in Birmingham City Centre in a Peaky Blinders-styled launch event. In April 2021, BoyleSports announced they had extended their sponsorship deal for two more seasons with Birmingham City until 2023.
In 2020, BoyleSports became English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux betting partner for the 2020/21 season. The partnership was extended for the 2021/22 season.
In August 2020, BoyleSports became the main sponsor of Coventry City. In 2021, Coventry City announced a two-year extension with BoyleSports, bringing "vital revenue" to the club until the end of the 2022/23 season.
In August 2021, BoyleSports was announced as the UK and Ireland Betting Partner of English Premier League side Newcastle United.
Darts Sponsorships & Achievements
In July 2019, BoyleSports announced a deal with the Professional Darts Corporation to sponsor the BoyleSports World Grand Prix in the Citywest Convention Centre, running from 2019 to 2021. The tournament is broadcast live on Sky Sports for seven nights each year. In 2020, BoyleSports was announced as the title sponsor of the 2020 Grand Slam of Darts, extending their sponsorship of PDC tournaments.
Greyhound Racing Sponsorships & Achievements
BoyleSports became the headline sponsor in 2014 for the Irish Greyhound Derby held in Shelbourne Park every September. In 2017, an announcement was made detailing the increase in prize money from €240,000 to €300,000 for the 2018 Derby. In 2021, BoyleSports announced a new three-year extension of their sponsorship of the Irish Greyhound Derby. The value of this sponsorship is expected to exceed €3m.
Other Sponsorships & Achievements
Previous major sponsorship deals have included title sponsor of Sunderland AFC (2007 - 2010) in the Premier League, the BoyleSports Hurdle during the Leopardstown Festival, the BoyleSports Irish Guineas Festival at the Curragh, the BoyleSports Champion stakes at Shelbourne Park, and the BoyleSports International at Dundalk Stadium.
In April 2022, BoyleSports announced its deal with online audio and video betting media company Spotlight Sports Group (SSG) to become the official title sponsor of SSG's golf show.
Brand Ambassadors
Former Republic of Ireland international footballer, Kevin Kilbane, joined BoyleSports as Football Brand Ambassador in 2016. The Match Of The Day and Virgin Media Sport pundit offers insight into upcoming football events for BoyleSports customers in shops and online.
In 2016, Cheltenham Gold Cup, Aintree Grand National, and BoyleSports Irish Grand National-winning jockey, Robbie "Puppy" Power, joined BoyleSports as Horse Racing Ambassador.
Previous brand ambassadors have included Stan Collymore, Joseph O'Brien, and Gordon Elliott.
In 2021, former England and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and sports broadcaster Natalie Sawyer joined BoyleSports as brand ambassadors ahead of the 2020 UEFA European Championship.
Controversies
In June 2012, it was reported that employees of BoyleSports were made to attend compulsory training courses held by Georgina Dolan, an associate of Tony Quinn. The courses promoted the Educo Model, which upset many employees forced to attend these courses. John Boyle, who had attended an Educo Seminar, said, "I believe totally in myself and my business. I am not part of anything other than being John Boyle, the best that John Boyle can be. What I want to do is train people to be the best they can."
In January 2013, BoyleSports retained the services of Tom McCarthy, formerly Chief Executive of the Irish Management Institute, to review all corporate training. BoyleSports immediately issued a statement including, "Mindfulness training served a particular purpose for the company at a particular time and it is not something that will be offered in the future."
Reliable Data Storage & IT Infrastructure
BoyleSports recognizes the importance of reliable data storage and IT infrastructure to maintain a world-class gaming platform. The company experienced rapid growth, which led to existing storage nearing capacity ahead of plan. Upgrading the legacy storage was a step upgrade and potentially expensive. BoyleSports needed resilient infrastructure that could respond to peaks in demand during busy betting periods, such as the Grand National.
BoyleSports chose Pure Storage FlashArray™ to streamline data management for its IT team and deliver the high performance and agility required within their industry. The company migrated old legacy and customer-facing platforms into one infrastructure, simplifying data management for employees. FlashArray delivers improved data de-duplication rates of 3:1 and allows infrastructure to be upgraded and modernized as needed through the Pure Evergreen™ Storage program, without incurring additional costs.
Conclusion
BoyleSports has established itself as a leading gambling company in Ireland and the UK. With a strong focus on customer experience and innovative technology, the company continues to expand its presence in the market. Despite some controversies in the past, BoyleSports remains committed to providing a world-class gaming platform for its customers, continually investing in sponsorships, partnerships, and infrastructure to maintain its position as a leading player in the industry.