Betting giant rewards problem gamblers

An Irish betting company has been rewarding problem gamblers to entice them to continue spending money, according to The Irish News.

BoyleSports has reportedly invited players who have lost hundreds of thousands of euros on its website to watch sports finals from a private box at Croke Park.

BoyleSports ranked among the top ten betting companies in Europe hit with the largest regulatory fines, paying £2.8 million in 2020 for failing to meet anti-money laundering standards.

Targeting problem gamblers

Irish News reporter Conor Coyle wrote: “a list of customers is circulated among senior staff to ascertain what their total losses were in the last year and in their lifetime”.

He added: “Documents seen by this newspaper show the targeted customers had racked up losses of tens of thousands of pounds in the previous year and hundreds of thousands in their lifetime.”

Colye explained that the practice of identifying “some of the biggest losers and inviting them to the hospitality box was still ongoing for last year’s All-Ireland finals.”

Integrity

BoyleSports’ private box at Croke Park has previously caused controversy for displaying a banner promoting its betting website into the stadium where gambling ads have otherwise been banned.

Former Armagh footballer Oisin McConville, who has struggled with gambling, called for the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to address the loophole: “There are gambling companies that want to be seen to be associated with the GAA, and it’s important they are seen to do the right thing here.”

When voting in 2018 to ban gambling ads at the GAA, President of the Connacht Council Mick Rock who forwarded the motion said that sport is “besieged by gambling” and that banning its promotion at sporting events “will enhance the moral standing of the GAA in Irish life and protect the integrity of our games.”

He added: “We normalised drinking from the cup until we realised the error of our ways. I think this would be a small but highly significant step in separating the GAA sporting event from the gambling culture. It would send out a positive message.”