Gambling mogul Denise Coates has secured an additional £260 million windfall, increasing her total earnings to £2.7 billion over the past 15 years. As the leader of Bet365, she solidified her position as one of the highest-paid executives in the UK and the highest-earning woman with this recent boardroom payout.
Recent financial reports for her family’s gambling enterprise reveal that she received a staggering salary of £104 million, a significant rise from £94.7 million in the previous year. Bet365 Group also tripled cash dividends to family stakeholders, totaling £313.6 million last year, with a considerable portion going to Ms. Coates due to her majority ownership of the company.
While the £260 million windfall is slightly lower than her record-breaking £469 million in 2021, it remains unmatched by other executive compensations in the UK. The Coates family, ranked as the 16th wealthiest individuals in Britain by the Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated fortune of £9.44 billion, will see further growth from this payout.
Denise Coates, known for her aversion to publicity, founded Bet365 in a modest portable cabin in a Stoke-on-Trent parking lot back in 2000. She and her husband, Richard Smith, resided in a farmhouse near Stoke before commissioning a cutting-edge steel and glass mansion in rural Cheshire designed by Lord Norman Foster’s architectural firm.
The lavish £90 million estate, sprawling across 52 acres, includes amenities like a sunken tennis court, stables, ornamental gardens, workers’ cottages, and a boathouse. Ms. Coates invested £8.5 million in acquiring adjacent land to ensure privacy for the property. In a rare interview, she expressed her early confidence in the success of online gambling due to its privacy, accessibility, and vast betting options for customers.
Apart from their commercial success, the Coates family is recognized for their substantial tax contributions, totaling £481.5 million to the UK Exchequer, an increase from £364 million in the previous year. Additionally, significant charitable donations amounting to £130 million were made to the Denise Coates Foundation in the same period.
The Foundation, classified as a company with trustees, distributed £16.7 million to various institutions last year. Beneficiaries included The University Hospitals of North Midlands Charity, which received grants for essential medical equipment such as a surgical robot, technology for lung surgery, trauma surgery equipment, specialist beds, and chemotherapy chairs.
Previously owners of Stoke City football club, the Coates family divested ownership to Ms. Coates’ brother, John, in July last year. Bet365 reported a 9% increase in revenue, surpassing £4 billion in the fiscal year ending in March, although pre-tax profits dwindled to £348.7 million.
The financial reports do not reflect the impact of heightened online gambling taxes announced in the recent Budget by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, signaling a government effort to address problem gambling and support initiatives to alleviate child poverty. Bet365 asserts its commitment to providing a secure gambling environment for customers, emphasizing ongoing investments in safety measures and collaboration with regulators and industry counterparts to promote responsible gambling practices.