Boylesports Review
A good betting site is not all about the sign up offer, and Boylesports are a perfect example of a bookie that offers long term value mixed with a first class betting experience and website functionality. There is a reason their customer retention is so high.
They offer some great regular customer offers alongside healthy odds and plenty of market range and depth, specialising in the more traditional betting categories but not slouching in others either.
They are one of Ireland’s biggest bookies, and fully UK licensed, with 2500 high street shops including a handful over here in the UK.
Why Should I Bet Here?
It’s a fair question and one that any discerning punter should be asking before they sign up and start betting with a new bookie.
With Boylesports it’s not a difficult question to answer, but it is multi-faceted, so I’m going to break it down into sections and look at what I think are the biggest draws for this particular bookmaker.
But first, it goes without saying that as Irelands biggest bookmaker, Boylesports are a fully licensed and regulated business that meet all of the safety and security requirements laid down by the UKGC and in British law. This is a safe place to bet and you will be well supported in the unlikely event of anything going awry.
It’s also more than just a sportsbook, so if you enjoy the odd game of roulette or a quick 15 minute spin on a few slot machines, Boylesports has you covered with a fully stocked casino, live casino, bingo, poker, and lotto betting offerings.
But you’re reading this to learn about the sportsbook first and foremost, so let’s pull that a part and have a look at what we’ve got.
Market Availability
It will no doubt be a huge surprise for you to learn that this Irish bookie offers better than average coverage of sports like Gaelic football and hurling. I know, right? Who’d have thunk it? Seriously though, if you are a fan of Irish sports there are few places better.
Sticking to a similar theme, this traditional style bookie also places much emphasis on UK and Irish horse and greyhound racing and will guarantee best odds on both, as well as offering odds on races from around the world plus tote betting. You don’t get that everywhere.
They are fairly heavy on speciality/novelty bets too as a matter of fact, with humility vacuum and all round vile human being Donald Trump having his own section during his tenure in charge of the US, and there is an awful lot of football.
Market depth shows high numbers, but while they are still top table they wouldn’t be challenging for the title in this department. Here are a few example football matches and their available pre-match market numbers:
| Fixture | League | Markets |
|---|---|---|
| Wolves v Aston Villa | Premier League (UK) | 161+ |
| Grimsby v Newport | League 2 (UK) | 72+ |
| Barcelona v Celta Vigo | La Liga (Spain) | 78+ |
| Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga (Germany) | 79+ |
| Bologna v Parma | Serie A (Italy) | 72+ |
Odds tend to be perfectly acceptable and sometimes even better on the sports mentioned so far, so you will always get a good price but you won’t be doing double takes when you see them.
Promotions
What’s great about the promotions at Boylesports is that although there aren’t scores of them – usually 7 or 8 at any one time – they have been very well curated.
This means that there should be something for everyone, and a nice mix of offers that provide long term value and those that need to be snatched up from month to month. They cover a multitude of sports too.
In the past I have seen double winnings as a free bet paid on Premier League matches if a penalty is scored, same deal on darts if the final checkout is 100+, acca insurance, free bet if a horse fails to start, and bet enhancements regularly crop up too.
The all sport acca loyalty offer was a popular long term promotion too.
Combine this little lot with odds that do elbow their way close to the front every now and again and you can find quite a bit of value at Boylesports.
Features
Another area of their offering that demands attention is the betting features.
There is pretty much everything you might hope for from an online bookie, but I’ll whizz you through them one by one:
- Cash out – Of course. No self-respecting bookie could leave this off the list in this day and age.
- Statistics – You will get access to historical statistical data for many teams/fixtures/competitions but not all. When betting in-play there will almost always be event stats available.
- Results – Fully optimisable results service so you can search by date, sport, etc.
- Betting News – This is focussed on news relating to Boylesports or articles from their ambassadors, but it’s a great place to catch up on the latest while your live game is going on.
- Virtual Sports – There is a lot more in the way of virtual sports than usual here. Instead of simply football, for example, you have matchday, classic football, and regular football; racing has flats, national hunt, and grand national. There is also motor racing, speedway, and a few others.
- Live Betting Calendar – This is useful if you want to do some forward planning, and they also helpfully list which TV channel, if any, will be showing the fixture.
- Radio – Not available on everything obviously, but when it’s an option it’s nice to have on in the background if you have a bet on the race in question.
- Live Streaming – Regularly available on horse racing but you will also find some live streaming in football, table tennis, esports, etc.
I think you will agree that this is above and beyond what you will find at most other online bookies, and there is enough here to enhance both the functionality and the enjoyment of your betting experience. Bravo.
About BoyleSports
Established only in 1989 by John Boyle after he lost his job delivering bread, BoyleSports have gone on to become Ireland’s most successful bookie. They are the largest independent bookmaker on the island of Ireland with over 250 betting shops and more than 1200 employees.
When compared with some of the real old hands in the game Boylesports may not seem all that old, but their 30+ year history actually makes them older than most, and may explain their more traditional feel and approach. What’s more, with the 2019 purchase of 13 Wilf Gilbert betting shops in England, they began expanding, and by 2022 they had 26 betting shops in England and growing.
You will likely know the name due to their prolific sponsorship activities in the premier league and in horse racing. They are best known for their daily betting offers, competitive odds, and decent market depth.
High Street Shops
Boylesports are the largest bookie in Ireland, with shops seemingly on every corner of every high street. This goes for Northern Ireland too to a lesser extent, and they even have a healthy scattering of shops around the North West, Birmingham and the West Midlands in the UK as of August 2019, with more to come by all accounts.
What’s interesting about Boylesports is that they really try to make an experience out of their betting shops, boasting plush carpeted venues with sofa style seating, air conditioning, complimentary refreshments, and cinema style viewing areas. It’s a far cry from the flat cap filled smoky rooms of old and with their expansion into the UK it could cause a few ripples.
It also means that you can bet with Boylesports in cash if there is a shop near you, which is a massive bonus for many punters.
A Word on the Website
This shouldn’t be taken as a criticism, but the website isn’t the most accessible if you are new to online betting. It’s actually a very good site that contains an awful lot of options, features, and bet types, but the layout has more of a traditional old school feel, so there is a lot to take in and unless you know what you are looking at it could be a bit daunting.
Never fear though, because it is actually quite intuitively set up once you start using it, but complete beginners might fare better elsewhere just to start with.
The interface is very informative with lots of icons denoting which features are available with each bet or category, and most options can be collapsed or expanded as needed, with further filtering options available as well.
It’s a pretty quick interface but might need a few seconds to warm up on a first load or a new page load.
Live Betting Interface
It’s a similar story here in the first instance; a lot to take it but it’s actually all very useful once you get used to looking at it. You can browse currently live events alongside upcoming ones which is handy, and these can be searched sport by sport.
Once in event view things become much clearer for the game in question but you can’t keep an eye on other fixtures from here. The match graphic for the event you have chosen provides much more detailed information on what is going on such as stats, line ups, etc., and your betting lines are all available below.
You can choose the bet category from things such as handicaps, goals, players, and the like, but because of the design there’s a fair bit of scrolling to do on bigger games/matches, although the betting markets are at least collapsible.
It’s a great live betting product overall with plenty of availability across all sports, but event view feels as though it has outgrown the screen space dedicated to it.
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