Number of large bets placed on McGuinness to be next president

Mairead McGuinness in the European Parliament in Strasbourg

Ardee woman Mairead McGuinness’ odds on becoming the next President of Ireland after Michael D Higgins have fallen.

The Fine Gael MEP was available at 7/1 earlier in the week but has been cut into 11/2 following some hefty bets in the last few days with bookmakers Boylesports.

The betting is interesting as there will be no Presidential election in Ireland until 2018.

RTÉ presenter Miriam O’Callaghan remains the 9/2 favourite with Bernardos chief executive Fergus Finlay behind McGuinness at 7/1.

Local TD Gerry Adams is an 80/1 outsider.

Liam Glynn, BoyleSports’ spokesperson said: “The past few days has seen some hefty bets placed on Mairead McGuinness to become the next President of Ireland with one punter staking €200 on McGuinness at 7/1 in one of our North Leinster shops.”

He added: “Miriam O’Callaghan remains favourite to succeed Michael D. Higgins as President but we have had to clip Mairead McGuinness into 11/2 as the former Ear To The Ground presenter and now MEP is now a five figure loser for the firm.”

Paddy Power refusing to give up on plans for Ardee shop

Paddy Power have lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against Louth County Council’s decision to refuse them planning permission to set up a new bookmakers in Ardee.

The company had applied to Louth County Council for planning permission to convert a former bar under Wau Asian Cuisine at the junction of Market Square and Irish Street into a betting office (102sqm) at ground level.

They had hoped to fit four satellite dishes on the flat roof at the rear and have three condenser units in the yard at the rear.

The application included permission for their signage and the internal modification of the building.

The move would have pitted them in direct competition with the nearby Boylesports unit. At least one objection came in, however, saying their site notice was misleading as the premises was not presently a bar and was being used as a hardware shop.

Last month the council refused the betting giant planning, however, on the basis that it contravened with the Ardee Local Area Plan to keep the town centre for retail use. They also said it would affect the town’s Architectural Conservation Area due to the four satellite dishes proposed.

Paddy Power are arguing that they comply with both the County Retail Strategy and the Local Area Plan, adding that the change of use of a vacant unit would not have any impact on the viability or vitality of Ardee town centre. Indeed, they argued a betting office would increase footfall “to the overall benefit of this part of the town.”

They further feel a betting office has a “quasi-retail use” which would complement the shopping offer in the town centre.

They also refuted the council’s decision to refuse permission on the basis it could set an “undesirable precedent for further such development.” Paddy Power argue that precedent is not a material planning consideration.

They further argue that the proposed satellite dishes will not be visible to such an extent that they have an impact on the Architectural Conservation Area. They said they would be happy to accept a condition that they are moved to another location on the site.

It now remains to be seen what way An Bord Pleanála see the case.

Lucky local punter turns €2 into €13,502

The winning bet slip

A lucky Louth punter managed to defy odds of 6,500/1 by turning €2 into €13,502 in last night’s Lotto draw.

The person, who wishes to remain anonymous, placed a €2 bet with Boylesports that 16, 25, 35 and 42 would be drawn amongst the six numbers in Wednesday night’s draw.

The numbers came out in the Lotto main draw which saw the customer defy the odds of 6,500/1 and net themselves a whopping €13,502 for their €2 stake.

Liam Glynn, BoyleSports’ spokesperson said: “The punters are certainly getting lucky with numbers this week as the latest winner follows on from a bashing in Tuesday night’s EuroMillions draw.”

He added: “We would like to congratulate the Louth customer on their winnings and it’s fair to say that we will be happy to see the month of August come to an end as we have got a beating on Lottery payouts throughout the month.”

Boylesports pay out on Dundalk FC winning league title

Bookmakers Boylesports have paid out on Dundalk winning this year’s SSE Airtricity League Premier Division title.

Stephen Kenny’s side moved 10 points clear at the top of the table with victory over St Patrick’s Athletic on Monday and that was enough to convince the locally based firm to pay out all those who had backed the Lilywhites to retain their title – despite the fact they still have nine games to play.

Liam Glynn of Boylesports said: “The Lilywhites were as big as 5/2 to retain the Airtricity League at the start of the season and now with a ten point lead and nine games left to play, we’ve paid out on the Louth side as we believe they can’t be caught.

“The early payout has already cost us five figures but with Dundalk FC in many accumulators with either Dublin or Kerry to win the All-Ireland SFC and Kilkenny to win the All-Ireland SHC, the hit may well exceed €20,000 come the middle of September,” he said.

Boylesports expanding in Northern Ireland

John Boyle of Boylesports

Locally-based betting chain Boylesports is to expand in Northern Ireland with two new stores planned for just over the border.

Boylesports which has 210 stores in the Republic, is buying two independent bookies in Mill Street in Newry and in Crossmaglen.

The expansion comes after Armagh owner John Boyle revealed he’s looking into acquiring more than 600 stores in Great Britain which could be shed by a merger between Ladbrokes and Gala Coral.

For the deal to go through it is likely the competition authority will demand the betting giant casts off hundreds of betting shops in the UK.

It would be Boylesports’ first foray into Great Britain.

Mr Boyle said: “Betfred and William Hill will also be looking strongly at this, but I’m hoping that as a new competitor to the UK market, Ladbrokes Coral might prefer us rather than making the bigger plcs stronger.”

His first bookmakers was in Markethill, where it remains. There is also a Boylesports in Camlough and one in Hill Street in Newry.

Now the business has acquired a second Newry bookies and one in Crossmaglen.

Mr Boyle said both would be rebranded as Boylesports.

“We’re already in Dundalk, so Newry is the next big town.

“We’re taking Crossmaglen because we’re already in Castleblayney, Carrickmacross, all the roads leading into Cross, this is just another link.”

He said he is interested in acquiring other stores in Northern Ireland.

He said: “We’re now putting it out that we want to buy shops in the north.

“If any privately-owned shops or groups come up for sale in the future then we would be a bidder.

“The plan is to cover the whole country. We estimated in the south we would be able to cover 250 stores easy, now we’re at 210.

“Then you’ve got to start looking at your next step and I’ve got to look three to five years ahead.”

Boylesports refused planning to expand Clanbrassil Street shop

Boylesports on Clanbrassil Street

Boylesports have been refused planning permission to expand their betting shop in Clanbrassil Street.

The betting chain, whose headquarters are in Dundalk, applied to Louth County Council in March for planning permission to convert the vacant Unit 1 of 86 Clanbrassil Street into a bookmakers premises.

Unit 1 of 86 Clanbrassil Street is the former Brass Rail premises, which has been lying idle since the boutique closed its doors last August.

Boylesports had been hoping to extend the ground floor of the bookmakers into Unit 1, as well as carrying out alterations to the front of both buildings but their application was refused by the local authority earlier this week.

Jenny’s odds for Rose of Tralee continue to tumble

Jenny Hanlon after being named the new Louth Rose

With the Rose Of Tralee just a couple of weeks away, things are heating up in the betting with one Rose catching the eye of punters.

Louth Rose Jenny Hanlon was initially installed as a 50/1 outsider for the crown but has fast became one to watch as punters gather behind her to show their support.

Jenny, who is studying business in Maynooth, could be the biggest dark horse in the race for the crown most recently being backed into 10/1 from 14/1 and posing the biggest liability for local bookmakers BoyleSports. It will not be smooth sailing however with a number of Roses ahead of the Cooley lass in the betting.

Dublin Rose, Aisling Finnegan, and Abu Dhabi Rose, Deirdre Ward, are head-to-head at the top of the betting as joint 7/2 favourites. Next in line are New York Rose Sophie Colgan and Dubai Rose Marie Ryan. German Rose Roisin Ni Mhathuna and Cork Rose Aoife Murphy also stand in Jenny’s way at 11/2 and 8/1 respectively.

Meanwhile, Sydney Rose Ciara Rafferty – who has family from Greenore – stands at 33/1.

Aoife Heffron, PR Executive at BoyleSports, said: “Louth have never won the Rose of Tralee but it looks like it could all change this year with Jenny Hanlon emerging as the pick with punters.”

She added: “Having gone from 50/1 to 10/1 already and with a couple of weeks to go until the competition gets underway, we expect she will continue to shorten. Jenny is the biggest loser in the book with BoyleSports looking at a large six figure hit should she go on and win it for the Wee County.”

Paddy Power refused planning to open Ardee office

Paddy Power have been refused planning permission to set up a new bookmakers in Ardee.

The company applied to Louth County Council for planning permission to convert a former bar under Wau Asian Cuisine at the junction of Market Square and Irish Street into a betting office (102sqm) at ground level.

They had hoped to fit four satellite dishes on the flat roof at the rear and have three condenser units in the yard at the rear.

The application included permission for their signage and the internal modification of the building.

The move would have pitted them in direct competition with the nearby Boylesports unit. At least one objection came in, however, saying their site notice was misleading as the premises was not presently a bar and was being used as a hardware shop.

It remains to be seen whether the company will appeal the decision or look at alternative sites in the town.

Boylesports looking to expand into Asia

Dundalk-based bookmakers Boylesports are set to continue their expansion plans by launching into the Asian gambling market from next year.

Boylesports are also looking at possible expansions into Eastern Europe and West Africa, according to its commercial director Brendan Hughes.

He told The Business Post: “We are actively looking at emerging markets.

“We already have a digital development and customer management team in Manila. It makes sense to be a launchpad to establish an Asian business.”

The company employs 90 people in Manila out of its total of 1,700 employees in Ireland, Britain and Gibraltar.

Hughes said: “The Asian gaming market is worth somewhere between $30 billion and $100 billion and it is growing by 15 per cent a year. It’s a complex market. They bet on sports in different ways to Europe. They are more into live casino experiences online too.

“We will need to develop different products to the Irish and British markets. The next step is to build a team out there to identify significant opportunities.”

He confirmed that Boylesports were looking to hire a management team to develop its Asian business and planned to conduct market research there.

Poland, Turkey and Nigeria were other countries which the company were looking at expanding into.

Louth Rose Jenny’s odds of Rose of Tralee title plummet inside a week

Louth Rose Jenny Hanlon being interviewed by Daithi Ó Sé at the regional finals in Portlaoise last month

Jenny Hanlon’s odds of becoming the first ever Louth Rose to be crowned the Rose of Tralee have fallen dramatically in the last week.

When odds were first announced by local bookmakers Boylesports last week the 19-year-old from Carlingford was a huge outsider at 50/1.

However, in the space of just eight days the NUI Maynooth business student has seen her odds drop to 18/1.

Jenny is the first Louth Rose since Patricia Marmion in 2012 to reach the finals in Tralee. It takes place next month.

Dublin Rose Aisling Finnegan and Abu Dhabi Rose Deirdre Ward head the betting at 7/2 at present but if O’Hanlon can continue to grow in popularity she could be an historic winner.