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BoyleSports UK – Overview & Rating
BoyleSports operates only in English.
Ireland’s largest High Street bookmaker, BoyleSports, has been in business since 1982. From small beginnings – a single shop in County Armagh operated by John Boyle – it has grown into a major player thanks to a series of judicious acquisitions. Today BoyleSports has more than 300 shops across Ireland and, following a 2019 buy-out of British indie bookmaker Wilf Gilbert, it now has a toehold across the Irish Sea as well. Clearly, there’s a shrewd business plan in place, but what does BoyleSports have to offer the shrewd online punter?
BoyleSports is well-known thanks to its sponsorship programmes. In its native Ireland, the BoyleSports Champion Chase day is a highlight of the annual Punchestown Festival and, since 2014, the bookie has also sponsored the Irish Grand National, the pinnacle of the jumps season. BoyleSports is also behind the Irish Greyhound Derby, another flagship event, and the annual BoyleSports World Grand Prix darts tournament, a week-long festival of arrows in Dublin. In England, sponsorship has focused on football: the BoyleSports logo appeared on Sunderland’s shirts during the team’s time in the Premier League (a time when the club also had significant Irish investment in the boardroom) and currently, BoyleSports sponsors Birmingham City and Coventry City in the Championship.
That interest in football, horses, greyhounds and darts informs a company well suited to the sports market in Ireland and the UK. After all, these are some of the biggest sports in those countries and with its headquarters in Dundalk, BoyleSports remains close to its geographical roots. However, the sportsbook at BoyleSports covers 40 different sports in total, making this an offering as diverse as you’re likely to find from most mainstream bookmakers.
BoyleSports does not just cater to sports betting. The BoyleSports website also offers casino and live casino gaming, plus a host of slots, poker, bingo and lotto.
Although BoyleSports head office is in Ireland, much of the business accounting is done in Gibraltar, allowing BoyleSports to tax advantage of a more generous tax regime. BoyleSports’s UK operations are licensed and regulated from London, while a further 158 countries and territories around the world also allow access to BoyleSports. Accounts can be managed in Euros, Sterling and US Dollars. Despite that international audience, BoyleSports is only available in English at present.
Layout
BoyleSports’ colours are blue and white with a splash of red, and that’s what you’ll see when you go to the website. Navigation is fairly straightforward. At the top of the screen, you can always find links to move you from Sportsbook to the casino, poker, Lotto, etc. Similarly, your account details and account management options are always in view, as well as a menu bar that includes a link to the A-Z list of sports and your cash out options. A left-hand sidebar gives easy links to the more popular sports – football, horse and dog racing, snooker, golf, tennis, rugby etc.
The various BoyleSports offers are front and centre, as you’d expect, with a slideshow promoting specials and a handful of direct links to leading sports markets below. Slightly unusually, there are also links to popular casino games in this block, just before you scroll down for the current in-play markets.
To the right, you find the bet slip, more quick links to the casino and a long-list of upcoming football matches, organised by kick-off time or competition. In general, there are no big surprises here.
Boylesports offers 3 apps for punters: BoyleSports Betting, BoyleSports Casino and BoyleSports Poker. All are available for Android and iOS devices.
Services
BoyleSports offers a wide range of sports for the discerning punter. The A-Z list has almost 40 different options, so whether you’re a football fan, a connoisseur of the horses or an athletics aficionado, you’ll surely find something to interest you here. In the past, the company has been criticised for not including E-Sports markets but that has now been addressed.
There are also virtual sports on offer, plus two gaming options, two casinos (live and virtual), bingo, lotto and poker. In short, there’s a lot to see at BoyleSports.
However, a wide choice of markets is less appealing if the odds are not competitive. Generally, though, BoyleSports does well enough here. The margin on Premier League football tends to be just over 6%, which is pretty good. Looking at specific markets, we can see once again that BoyleSports is very much in line with its rivals. Advance betting for the US Masters Golf champion sees the odds here consistently tracking the middle of the market. BoyleSports never tops the charts (save for a best-priced 66/1 about Joaquin Niemann, a player unavailable elsewhere) but it never has the worst price either.
At the football, BoyleSports offers a top price 4/7 about Germany winning its friendly with the Czech Republic. The big game between the Netherlands and Spain, similarly, sees the prices squarely in the middle of the market.
The live selection is extensive, with much of the action turning in-play. However, there are some minor gripes. Firstly, the number of in-play markets at the football drops sharply – a routine international friendly might have around 80 markets before kick-off, but that falls to less than 40 when the ref blows his whistle. Second, there is almost no live streaming here. BoyleSports only provides footage of horse and dog racing. In-game stats are good, but no substitute for watching it for yourself.
Offers
BoyleSports’ welcome offer (in the UK, at least) seems like a straightforward proposition. Sign up, place a £10 bet at evens or higher, and claim a £10 free bet. No strings attached, no ‘refund losing bets up to £10’, just a simple freebie. And everyone loves a freebie, right? But, although you might not notice from the promotions on social media and the website itself, there’s a catch. BoyleSports’ ‘bet 10, get 10’ deal only applies to mobile users.
If you sign up and bet using the desktop, BoyleSports offer is less generous. Here, a £10 bet at evens or better brings a £5 free bet. Subsequently, there’s a chance to secure up to four more free bets of up to £5 each – but you’ll be taking a good deal more to get there. Each extra bet requires three more cash stakes at 1.5 or higher; subsequent free bets will be half the average value of those three. Thus, three bets of £10 will yield another £5 free bet, three bets of £5 would net a £2.50 freebie and a mix of £3, £4 and £5 stakes would give an average wager of £4 and a bonus of £2. You don’t need to be Einstein to see that this offer has you risking rather more to get the rewards – and arguably the information could be clearer when registering on the site.
That’s a long-term offer for new users, but once enrolled, BoyleSports continues to reward its punters. Seasonal offers include payouts on the first 10 places in the upcoming Masters Golf from Augusta or free bets if your fancy comes second to the SP favourite in any race from selected meetings. There are also offers about paying up to four places on selected races with fields of 12 or more.
Acca fans will like BoyleSports Acca Insurance and, if you sign up to the BoyleXtra card, you can get a free acca for every five placed. That handy bit of plastic, designed to help bettors bring together their online and in-store betting, also unlocks potential free bet refunds on losing bets, a chance to enter regular prize draws and the option of managing your funds without connecting to your bank account. However, it’s a little frustrating that the loyalty scheme is only open to people who can access a BoyleSports shop, limiting it to punters in Ireland and the English midlands.
BoyleSports offers a Bet Builder service for Football and Rugby Union, with the added bonus that your winnings will be doubled if a red card is shown in the game. The extras will be credited as free bets rather than cash.
Like most bookmakers, BoyleSports also offers daily specials with enhanced odds on football, American football, horse racing and GAA markets. A notable line ahead of the football match between England and Ireland on Nov. 12 promised a ‘no-risk’ bet of up to £10, with a free bet offered as insurance if your pick let you down.
Customer support
BoyleSports offers an extensive, searchable FAQ at https://boylesports.zendesk.com/hc/en-us. For any queries, simply keying in a couple of words in the search box will point you in the direction. However, not everything can be answered so easily at BoyleSports.
The next step for customer services is to try the live chat. This is easy to access, either from the above page or from the ‘quick links’ menu at the bottom of every page. Click on ‘Contact us’, ‘Support’ or ‘Chat’ to open a conversation with a BoyleSports representative. You can expect a response within a couple of minutes, although it may take a bit longer to get a full answer if you have a complex query (resolving the fine print on the sign-up offer took about 25 minutes).
There is also a phone line – 1800 220066 from Ireland, 0800 220066 from the UK and +353 42 9393168 from the rest of the world. The UK and Irish numbers are freephone services.
For issues that need a lot of attention, or where you want a secure record of the company’s response, email is the way forward. The address is [email protected]. Replies will be slower than chat or phone but you will have a written answer from the company, which can be important in case of a major dispute.
Registration in BoyleSports
The sign-up process at BoyleSports doesn’t spring any surprises. There are three screens to navigate, requesting the usual personal and contact details. There are reassuring signs that the site takes security seriously – new customers are asked to create a security question to confirm their identity when talking to BoyleSports staff, and users are also encouraged to set a deposit limit to help combat problem gambling.
There was a small hiccough at the end of the registration process. The third screen invites new users to deposit funds into the account. However, a glitch when loading the screen cut off the bottom third of the form – including the crucial confirmation button that allows the deposit to go ahead. Accessing the same form via the account balance button in the top right-hand corner of the home page solved that problem.
Financial information
BoyleSports operates accounts in three currencies – Euros, Sterling and US Dollars. The site accepts deposits from Visa, MasterCard, Maestro and Delta cards, plus a raft of online payments systems including Skrill, Paypal, Neteller, Paysafecard, Euteller, instadebit, giropay, Sofort banking, Boku, Giropay, Trustly, Google Pay, Apple Pay and BoyleSports’ own BoyleXtra card. Territorial restrictions may apply to some of these services.
There is a minimum deposit of £5 (or currency equivalent), and a minimum withdrawal of £10 on all BoyleSports accounts.
BoyleSports has maximum payout rules, with a top rate of 500,000 Euros (or currency equivalent) on elite level football and horse racing. For minor sports, that cap drops to 25,000 Euros.
Security and reliability
As mentioned above, BoyleSports is regulated and licensed in the UK and Gibraltar, two highly reputable territories for gambling. BoyleSports is a member of the Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS), which how the power to rule on disputes in the UK. Awards of up to £10,000 to a customer are binding; higher figures could be referred to the courts.
Funds are held in separate bank accounts, away from the company’s core assets. Thus, in the event of insolvency, customers should be able to withdraw their money. However, it is possible that not all the money will be available, so the official security rating is set at ‘medium’.
BoyleSports also signs up to various campaigns to combat problem gambling. These include GamCare, Gamstop and Be Gamble Aware.
What’s missing?
For the most part, BoyleSports offers a solid, reliable betting experience. There’s plenty of choices and the site is fairly easy to use. However, the confusion over the sign-up bonus leaves a sour taste. The company’s marketing, at least in November 2020, gives a strong impression that it offers a straightforward ‘bet 10, get 10’ welcome for all BoyleSports users. There is nothing wrong with having different offers for mobile and desktop users, but displaying a mobile-only promotion on the desktop site and making no mention of the standard desktop offer feels misleading – especially when BoyleSports’ sign-up deal on the desktop is so much less attractive.
BoyleSports Apps offer not the same services as BoyleSports web version. You can avail of BoyleSports Sportsbook, Poker and Casino options that are available both for Android and iOS platforms.
Deposit
You can fund deposits in BoyleSports via VISA, VISA Electron, Mastercard debit cards, Skrill, Neteller, paysafecard, PayPal, Trustly, SOFORT, Euteller, BOKU, Google Pay, Apple Pay and bank transfers.
The minimum deposit is £5. The maximum sum varies. The processing time is instant. No commission held by the bookmaker for the deposits.
Withdrawal
The withdrawal can be made through VISA, Mastercard debit cards, VISA Fast Funds (VISA Direct), Skrill, Neteller and PayPal. The minimum withdrawal sum is £5. The maximum amount varies except VISA Fast Funds (£5,000). The processing time is 3-5 business days for cards, 2-12 hours for VISA Fast Funds and 24 hours for Skrill, Neteller and PayPal. No commission is held by the bookmaker for withdrawals.
Deposit | Withdrawal | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sum | Time | Commission | Sum | Time | Commission | |
from £5 to - | instant | 0% | from £5 to - | 3-5 business d. | 0% | |
from £5 to - | instant | 0% | from £5 to - | 3-5 business d. | 0% | |
from £5 to - | instant | 0% | - | - | - |
BoyleSports accepts British pounds, Euros and US dollars.
as an arbitrator
Confiscate winnings
BoyleSports support service offers 2 options: live chat and email, if you have an issue with the bookmaker. Support service works only for registered users.
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Once you register your account, deposit some funds into your account. When you are ready, choose your sport and your fixture, event and place your wager. Your bet will be added automatically to your bet slip and good luck.
We recommend you register your account via the website first as it is faster and more convenient. Depending on your mobile device, choose from Google Play if Android or the Apple Store of an iOS device. Ratings from users who have downloaded the app are not so high which is something this bookmaker could take some action on.
As soon as your account is open, simply place a bet of a minimum £10. You must meet these criteria – Min odds ½. Max £25 in free bets. The qualifying bet must be placed within 30 days of account creation.
Log onto your account, select “withdraw “ and choose your payment method. By default, this will be the method you originally used. If you wish to change this to another method, go ahead but be wanted your funds may take longer to clear. Neteller and Skrill are typically the fastest methods used with many bookmakers.