Boylesports is the largest independent bookmaker

Bookmaker

A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...

 in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. Headquartered in Dundalk

Dundalk

Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...

, County Louth

County Louth

County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Boylesports has 161 retail branches throughout the country. In addition to their retail stores, Boylesports operates a telephone betting service, "Fon-A-Bet", and Internet-based betting and gaming services.

History

Boylesports was established by John Boyle in 1982. Its stated mission is to create a "modern sports betting service". Boylesports employs over 800 people and has 161 retail branches in Ireland. The organisation had 77 shops by August 2004, and opened their 100th store two years later.

Boylesports betting channels also feature a Fon-A-Bet service, and an online betting service. Boylesports' online product range includes Boylesports.com, Boylepoker.com, Boylecasino.com, Boylegames.com, Boylelotto.com, Boylemobile.com, Boyleskill.com and Boylebingo.com.

Barclays Premier League

In May 2007 Boylesports announced a four year contract to sponsor Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 in the Premier League. This deal has seen Boylesports become Sunderland’s official Betting and Gaming partner. Boylesports also provide betting facilities throughout the Stadium of Light

Stadium of Light

The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light has the fifth-largest capacity of any English football stadium. The stadium primarily hosts Sunderland A.F.C. matches...

.

Boylesports were the Official Online Gaming Partner of Premier League side Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

 for the 2008/09 season.

Irish Football

The Football Association of Ireland

Football Association of Ireland

The Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...

, which incorporates the Irish soccer team and the League of Ireland

League of Ireland

The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...

 announced Boylesports as their Official Betting Partner on 29 August 2008.

Racing

Boylesports sponsor the Boylesports.com International at Cheltenham Racecourse

Cheltenham Racecourse

Cheltenham Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing events, located at Prestbury Park, in the suburban village of Prestbury on the outskirts of the English town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire...

, the second richest hurdle race in the world after the Champion Hurdle.

Other major sponsorship deals include the Boylesports Irish Guineas Festival at the Curragh

Curragh

The Curragh is a flat open plain of almost 5,000 acres of common land in County Kildare, Ireland, between Newbridge and Kildare. This area is well-known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the famous Japanese Gardens. Also...

, the Boylesports Champion stakes at Shelbourne Park

Shelbourne Park

Shelbourne Park is a greyhound racing stadium in the south Dublin inner city suburb of Ringsend.The stadium also played host to the home matches of Shelbourne FC, who play in the League of Ireland, from 1913/14 up until 1948/49. The first match was a 1-1 draw against Bohemians and their last match...

 and the Boylesports International at Dundalk Stadium.

Casino

Boylecasino offers players the opportunity to play their favourite Casino games, such as Blackjack

Blackjack

Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...

, Roulette

Roulette

Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....

 and Slots Games using the same account already held with Boylesports. Boylecasino uses the Wagerworks platform and is licensed by the Alderney Gaming Commission.

Poker

Boylepoker, a member of the Boylesports group, sponsor 2008 WSOP bracelet winner Marty Smyth

Marty Smyth

Marty Smyth is a professional poker player from Belfast, Northern Ireland with a track record including wins in the 2007 Irish Poker Open Championship and the 2008 Poker Million. He won his first WSOP bracelet in the 2008 $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship.-Poker career:Marty Smyth has...

. The Belfast man also won the Poker Million

Poker Million

The Poker Million has been a televised European poker tournament since its inception in November 2000. The final debuted to 30 million viewers and has since remained popular. It was created by UK gaming outfit Ladbrokes with the help of sports promotion firm Matchroom Sport...

 in 2008 to add to his 2007 Irish Poker Open

Irish Poker Open

The paddypowerpoker.com Irish Poker Open is the longest running No Limit Texas hold 'em poker tournament in Europe and second longest in the world after the World Series of Poker....

 triumph.

European sites

Boylesports became multilingual in 2008, opening new offices across Europe and launching online sports betting sites in German, Spanish and Swedish.

Further reading

• "New CEO for Boylesports". Irish Examiner
  Irish Examiner
  The Irish Examiner, formerly The Cork Examiner and then The Examiner, is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country...
  
  . 20 January 2010. Accessed 2 September 2011.
• Noonan, Laura. "Boylesports chief executive resigns after six months". Belfast Telegraph. 18 August 2010. Accessed 2 September 2011.
• "Boylesports puts properties into play". The Irish Times
  The Irish Times
  The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
  
  . 15 June 2011. Accessed 2 September 2011.