BOYLE Sports CEO Vlad Kaltenieks has described the UK as one of the toughest markets in the world for operators, warning that rising tax rates and ever-increasing regulation are compounding an already brutal landscape.
Speaking to EGR’s news editor, Joe Levy, on the latest episode of the Power Seat, Kaltenieks said: “I recall my time at Betsson and somebody said that the UK is probably one of the markets where brands come to die.
“It’s just been so characteristic of the challenges in the market, with the big brands present, capturing the majority of it, and [it’s] very difficult to compete.”
Despite that backdrop, BOYLE Sports committed £100m to the UK in 2025 as part of a three-year investment plan, which included front-of-shirt sponsorship of West Ham United.
Those plans were announced in the summer, before the Autumn Budget revealed remote gaming duty was to nearly double from 21% to 40% in April 2026, while general betting duty will leap from 15% to 25% as of April 2027.
“We thought that the taxation was going to increase, that the regulation was going to increase as well – maybe not in the numbers that were actually announced, and we also don’t know what the future holds,” Kaltenieks said.
“But we’ve considered that, and we still thought that what BOYLE Sports brings – that energy proposition, that dynamism – is still relevant to the customers.”
Kaltenieks also opened up on what he described as the toughest call of his time in charge: BOYLE Sports’ brand refresh, which came after almost 12 months of customer research.
“We really wanted to make sure that we’re doing it in the right way,” he said. “I didn’t want it to be just a rebrand, changing the logo, changing the colours. I also wanted to make sure that we’re showing up in a new way, that we’re resonating well with customers that have trusted us for many years.” The full conversation, covering the bookmaker’s new Squad Builder feature, Ireland’s revamped regulatory framework and what’s next for BOYLE Sports, is available now.
The post Power Seat: Vlad Kaltenieks on why it is “very difficult to compete” in the UK as a challenger brand first appeared on EGR Intel.
On the latest episode of EGR’s podcast, the BOYLE Sports CEO discusses how unforgiving the UK market is for challenger brands and why betting on a brand refresh was worth the risk
The post Power Seat: Vlad Kaltenieks on why it is “very difficult to compete” in the UK as a challenger brand first appeared on EGR Intel.