Gambling tycoon Denise Coates has secured an additional £260 million windfall, pushing her total earnings over the last 15 years to £2.7 billion. Coates, who leads Bet365, solidified her position as one of the top-paid executives in the UK and the highest-paid female executive with this recent windfall.
Recent financial reports for her family’s betting business reveal that Coates received a salary of £104 million, a notable increase from £94.7 million in the previous year. Bet365 Group also tripled its cash dividend payouts to family shareholders, reaching £313.6 million. As the majority stakeholder in the company, Coates was entitled to a significant portion of this sum.
While the £260 million windfall is substantial, it falls short of her record-breaking £469 million earnings in 2021. Nonetheless, it surpasses the known compensation packages of other top executives in the UK. Coates’ family, ranked as the 16th wealthiest in Britain on the latest Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated wealth of £9.44 billion, is set to see further growth with this latest payout.
Denise Coates, known for her aversion to the limelight, founded Bet365 in a modest portable cabin in a Stoke on Trent parking lot back in 2000. Over the years, she and her husband, Richard Smith, resided in a farmhouse near Stoke before commissioning a modern steel and glass mansion in rural Cheshire designed by Lord Norman Foster’s architectural firm.
The extensive £90 million estate sprawls over 52 acres and boasts amenities like a sunken tennis court, stables, ornamental gardens, workers’ cottages, and a boathouse. Coates reportedly invested £8.5 million in acquiring surrounding land to maintain privacy for the property. In a rare interview, she expressed her early conviction in the success of online gambling due to its privacy, accessibility, and ability to offer a wide range of betting options to customers.
The Coates family is also recognized for their significant tax contributions to the UK government, with the group’s total tax payment amounting to £481.5 million in the latest financial period. Additionally, substantial charitable donations amounting to £130 million were made by the group to the Denise Coates Foundation in the same year.
The Foundation, operated as a company with trustees, distributed £16.7 million in donations and grants to various institutions in 2024. Among the beneficiaries was The University Hospitals of North Midlands Charity, which received substantial grants for essential medical equipment and facilities.
Stoke City Football Club, previously owned by the Coates family through Bet365 until July last year, is now overseen by Ms. Coates’ brother, John. The club reported a significant loss exceeding £10 million at the time of demerger.
Despite Bet365’s revenue climbing by 9% to over £4 billion in the year ending March, the company experienced a nearly 50% drop in profit before tax. The financial reports do not reflect the impact of increased online gambling taxes announced in the recent Budget, aimed at addressing problem gambling and supporting child poverty initiatives.
Bet365 emphasizes its commitment to providing a safe environment for customers and ongoing investments in promoting responsible gambling practices, collaborating with regulators and industry peers to ensure the highest standards of player protection.