Denise Coates, known as the gambling queen, has recently added another £260 million to her wealth, bringing her total earnings over the past 15 years to £2.7 billion. As the head of Bet365, she solidified her position as one of the highest-paid executives in the UK and the best-paid female executive with this latest payout.
The latest financial records for her family’s gambling business indicate that she received a salary of £104 million, which is an increase from £94.7 million in the previous year. Bet365 Group also distributed a substantially higher amount in cash dividends to family shareholders, totaling £313.6 million, with a significant portion going to Ms. Coates due to her majority stake in the company.
Although this windfall of approximately £260 million is slightly lower than her record payout of £469 million in 2021, it still surpasses the earnings of other top executives in the UK. The Coates family, ranked as the 16th richest in Britain according to the Sunday Times Rich List, is expected to further increase their wealth with this payout.
Denise Coates, who prefers to stay out of the limelight, founded Bet365 in a temporary cabin in a car park in Stoke on Trent back in 2000. Together with her husband Richard Smith, they transformed their living arrangements by commissioning a state-of-the-art mansion in rural Cheshire, worth £90 million, complete with exclusive amenities like a sunken tennis court, stables, and ornamental gardens.
Additionally, the Coates family is renowned for their substantial tax contributions to the UK Exchequer, with the group’s total tax payment amounting to £481.5 million in the most recent year, a notable increase from £364 million in the previous year. The Denise Coates Foundation, a charitable organization associated with the family, also made significant donations totaling £130 million last year, benefitting various institutions and causes.
Stoke City football club, previously owned by the Coates family through Bet365, changed ownership last year and is now overseen by Ms. Coates’ brother. Despite Bet365’s revenue growth of 9% to over £4 billion in the past year, the company’s pre-tax profit nearly halved to £348.7 million. The accounts do not include the potential impact of increased online gambling taxes recently introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the latest Budget, reflecting efforts to address issues related to problem gambling and support initiatives to combat child poverty.
Bet365 emphasizes its commitment to providing a safe gambling environment for customers and ongoing investments in promoting responsible gambling practices.