Irish bookmaker BoyleSports has purchased independent bookmaker Wilf Gilbert, which runs 13 betting shops in the Midlands of England.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it marks a move by BoyleSports into the UK betting shop market. The company hopes to be running 100 betting shops in the country within the next year.
“With the purchase of the Wilf Gilbert group of shops we have realized our long-term goal to bring to the UK retail betting public the same quality of service and of shops that BoyleSports’ Irish retail customers have enjoyed for years,” said BoyleSports’ chief executive Conor Gray in a press release. “Of course, our ambition does not end with this group of shops. We are looking for other opportunities to grow our estate and hope to add more shops over the summer months and beyond.”
The move comes even as betting shops are expected to close in the UK due to a move by the government this April to reduce the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals to £2 from £100.
GVC Holdings – the parent company of Ladbrokes Coral – William Hill and Betfred have all estimated that a total of 2,400 of their betting shops will close in the next few years, although GVC recently said the impact of the FOBT crackdown had not been as severe as initially expected.
Ireland, however, does not allow FOBTs.
“The FOBT stake-reduction legislation will radically change the UK’s retail betting environment,” Gray said. As a company that has never operated FOBTs we hope to help drive that change by transforming each of the shops within this group into world-class betting lounges with a wide variety of betting available on state-of-the-art screens and interactive terminals, with comfortable furniture, free refreshments and access to free wifi, that will provide a safe, regulated and enjoyable experience for both existing and new UK betting customers.”
