Gambling mogul Denise Coates has secured an additional £260 million windfall, pushing her total payouts to £2.7 billion over the past 15 years. As the leader of Bet365, she solidified her status as one of the highest-paid executives in the UK and the highest-paid woman, thanks to the recent boardroom reward.
Recent financial reports for her family’s gambling enterprise reveal that she received a staggering salary of £104 million, up from £94.7 million in the previous year. Bet365 Group also tripled the cash dividends to family shareholders, reaching £313.6 million last year, with a significant portion going to Ms. Coates due to her majority stake in the company.
Although the windfall of approximately £260 million is slightly lower than her record-breaking £469 million in 2021, it still surpasses the earnings of other prominent business leaders in the UK. The Coates family’s wealth, estimated at £9.44 billion in the latest Sunday Times Rich List, ranks them as the 16th richest individuals in Britain.
Denise Coates, known for her aversion to publicity, founded Bet365 in a modest portable cabin in a Stoke-on-Trent car park back in 2000. Together with her husband Richard Smith, they transitioned from living in a farmhouse near Stoke to a futuristic steel and glass mansion in rural Cheshire, featuring amenities like a sunken tennis court, stables, ornamental gardens, workers’ cottages, and a boathouse across 52 acres.
Further contributions from the Coates family include substantial charitable donations to the Denise Coates Foundation, totaling £130 million last year. The Foundation, functioning as a company with trustees, distributed funds to various institutions, including The University Hospitals of North Midlands Charity, which received grants for essential medical equipment.
Bet365’s revenue climbed by 9% to over £4 billion in the fiscal year ending in March, despite a nearly halved profit before tax at £348.7 million. The company’s accounts do not reflect the recent increase in online gambling taxes announced in the latest Budget, aimed at addressing gambling-related issues and child poverty.
In its financial statements, Bet365 emphasizes its dedication to providing a safe gambling environment for customers, with ongoing investments in this area and collaboration with regulators to uphold industry best practices.