BoyleSports, Ireland’s largest private bookmaker, is once again actively seeking a buyer after years of failed attempts to complete a sale.
Sources familiar with the process told NEXT.io that JP Morgan is the bank currently shopping the company around to potential suitors in the market.
The sale process has reportedly been ongoing for several years, with at least one bid coming extremely close to completing before ultimately falling through.
That near-miss involved an offer from a major regulated European operator that almost concluded a deal worth hundreds of millions of euros for BoyleSports’ retail and online operations.
Names raised as possible buyers at various points have included French lottery giant FDJ United and Fred Done’s Betfred, alongside operators with an established Irish presence.
Chief commercial officer Troy Cox, hired in 2024 from SKS365, is understood to be leading the sale process from within the business.
Founder John Boyle remains heavily involved in the company despite stepping down as CEO close to a decade ago and is reportedly keen to retire.
David Brohan, head of Goodbody’s gaming research practice, offered a positive assessment of the underlying business, noting its strong competitive position in the Irish market.
Brohan said: “Their offering in Ireland is very competitive. I would say their betting shops are as good as anyone’s, and their online business stacks up well. It’s an attractive asset – but it has to be at the right price.”
Private equity has also emerged as a possible route for a transaction, with senior executives said to have shown interest in exploring that avenue.
Brohan added: “As much as all these [gambling] companies are very much out of favour in public markets at the moment, these businesses are still very attractive from a cash flow perspective.”
Sources suggest Apollo could be well positioned to act, having built up firepower after exiting its Lottomatica investment in 2025, while KKR and Blackstone are both active in sports betting-adjacent spaces.
Blackstone’s existing involvement includes co-owning major Romanian B2C player Super Technologies, underlining the firm’s appetite for regulated gambling assets.
Despite the strategic appeal of the business, recent investments have weighed on financial performance and complicated the path to a strong valuation.
One source close to the company told NEXT.io that BoyleSports has been attempting to “fatten the pig” through recent strategic moves, including a well-publicised €100m push into the UK market.
That expansion came alongside a costly West Ham front-of-shirt sponsorship, a deal understood to be worth around €13m, during a season in which the Hammers were relegated from the Premier League.
West Ham will now compete in the Championship next season, a division with considerably less global marketing reach than the top flight.
These investments have weighed on EBITDA, which one source suggested could fall below €60m for the first time in years, putting pressure on the achievable sale price.
The business has historically been valued somewhere between €350m and €450m, though current conditions may make hitting that range more difficult.
One expert suggested BoyleSports may have prioritised ambitious expansion at the cost of consolidating its dominant position in Ireland, where the real opportunity lies.
They said: “The big issue I’ve always had with [Boyle Sports], is they had these grand ambitions for global expansion or for a big ticket move into the UK, and they could never really materialise.”
The same expert argued that with Paddy Power closing shops and de-emphasising the UK, the number one position in Ireland is genuinely within reach for BoyleSports.
They added: “It’s not a super sexy business, but it can be a decently profitable business and kick off a decent bit of cash. If they can do that, then that’s fine, but I think it’s never going to be a global player.”
BoyleSports declined to comment when contacted about the ongoing sale process.
