Boylesports set to open high street bookmakers in UK

Boylesports has confirmed they are in advanced talks to acquire a number of high street shops from rival bookmakers and enter the UK retail market in early 2019.

The Boylesports brand is a common sight in Ireland where they have over 200 shops across the country and are now looking to expand into the UK high street market by April 2019.

Opening UK betting shops has been on the cards for many years for Boylesports and with many current operators under pressure to keep shops open due to new regulations, there is now an opportunity to acquire those premises.

New Fixed Odds Betting Terminal (FOBT) regulations are set to be introduced in April 2019 which will restrict maximum stakes to £2. Currently, punters can bet up to £100 per spin on FOBT machines but bookmakers are being forced to dramatically reduce the maximum stake due to pressure from the UK government who are enforcing the change with the aim to reducing gambling-related harm. Fixed odds betting terminals have been referred to as the ‘crack cocaine of gambling’ as punters can potentially lose thousands of pounds within a matter of minutes playing on them. Several UK bookmakers have expressed their concerns of the impact the new regulations will have on their high-street shops with William Hill stating they could potentially see 900 of their shops operating at a loss.

Despite the new regulations, Boylesports wish to enter the UK market as they see it as an effective way to increase their online presence to the UK market.

Earlier this year, Boylesports CEO Conor Gray said the following in relation to entering the UK retail market:

“It is still an ambition because our data, our history, will tell you if you have a retail presence, it will help your digital business, and vice versa,” Gray said. “So we have an ambition to be in the UK.”

So what does this mean for matched bettors?

It could mean that we see several Boylesports shops opening in prominent locations which may result in opportunities to take advantage of promotions Boylesports offers such as ‘2nd to SP Favourite’, ACCA Insurance and Best Odds Guaranteed in-store.