Irish bookmaker to become West Ham shirt sponsor in £13m deal
The sponsorship deal, which cost up to £13m (€15.1m), coincides with a rebrand of BoyleSports, and with talk of the company investing £100m on opening 200 new shops in Britain.
Rival bookmakers, such as William Hill and Ladbrokes, have been closing their shops there and focusing on the US and on online platforms.
BoyleSports, the largest independently owned bookmaking brand in Ireland, will only have a year to activate their full West Ham sponsorship, because a ban on bookies putting their names on the front of shirts comes into effect next summer for Premier League clubs. At that point, the Irish company's name will switch to the shirt sleeves.
Founded by John Boyle, the chain opened its first shop in Markethill, Co Armagh in 1982. The company now has a total of 390 outlets, with 70 of them in Britain.
Vlad Kaltenieks, the Lativan law graduate who was appointed chief executive in December 2022, has said that the planned UK expansion will be funded by shareholders. Because of the exodus of other bookie chains, he believes the UK is an under-appreciated market.
'As a family-owned, independent business, we've built a loyal customer base in Ireland by focusing on trust, service and a seamless experience and now we're rolling that approach out even more widely across the UK,' he told the Sunday Times last weekend.
Although he had a track record of building online platforms at other gambling companies before he joined BoyleSports, Mr Kaltenieks has previously described himself as a 'strong believer in retail'.
BoyleSports has previously had sponsorship deals with other English football clubs, including partnerships with teams in the midlands and north-east of the country such as Newcastle, Sunderland and Birmingham.
However, this will be the first time its name will appear on the shirt of a Premier League outfit.
The culture of bookie shops in England is quite dingy
The tie-up with West Ham has come as a surprise, as BoyleSports does not have a significant presence in the east of London. It was also thought that the company was pulling back from football.
'The culture of bookie shops in England is quite dingy, so BoyleSports is looking to improve the experience,' an industry source said. 'There's talk about having one 'super shop' in London, in the style of Nike or Apple, rather than a series of kiosks.'
Two years ago, amid talk of a legal ban, Premier League clubs agreed voluntarily to take the names of bookies' firms off the front of shirts, and this takes effect at the end of the 2025/26 season.
Were West Ham to be relegated from the Premier League next season, BoyleSports could seek to put their name on the front of the jersey again, as the voluntary ban does not extend to the Championship.
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