How Denise built the fortune
Denise Coates created bet365 at a time when most British bookmakers still saw the internet as a sideline to their high street shops. In 2000 she bought the bet365 web address and set out to build an online betting business using the expertise of her family's chain of betting shops. The company began trading in 2001 from portable cabins in a car park in Stoke-on-Trent, financed by a loan secured against the family's shops.
The early years were lean, but Coates focused on technology and on in play betting, which allows customers to place bets while a sporting event is under way. Bet365 invested heavily in live data and streaming, offering odds on thousands of events across many sports and quickly adjusting prices as matches unfolded. That made it attractive to online customers and helped it overtake older bookmakers in digital betting. In 2005 the family sold its chain of shops to Coral, putting all its resources into the website.
Bet365 grew into one of the largest online gambling companies in the world, operating under licences in many countries and serving customers in multiple languages. It has remained privately owned by the Coates family, with Denise as the largest shareholder holding about half of the company. Because the business is highly profitable and pays substantial dividends, her wealth reflects both the company's value and years of income from it.
A further choice that set bet365 apart was its decision to build almost all of its technology in house rather than licensing software from outside suppliers. That gave the company control over the speed of its betting platform and the design of its products, and it allowed bet365 to enter new countries on its own systems. The company also became known for heavy spending on advertising and sponsorship to build its brand in each new market.
Companies and holdings
Bet365 Group is headquartered in Stoke-on-Trent, where it is one of the largest private employers, and has further offices in Gibraltar, Malta and other locations. Its main activities are:
- sports betting, with a strong emphasis on in play markets and live streaming
- online casino, poker and other games
- operations in regulated markets in Europe, Australia, Canada and Latin America
- a growing presence in the United States, where it launched after states began legalising sports betting from 2018
Denise Coates is joint chief executive alongside her brother, John Coates, while their father, Peter Coates, has served as chairman. The family also controls Stoke City Football Club, whose stadium carries the bet365 name.
Early life and career
Coates was born in Stoke-on-Trent in September 1967 and grew up in the city. Her father ran a chain of betting shops, Provincial Racing, and was also a well known figure in local football. She studied econometrics at the University of Sheffield and then trained as an accountant, joining the family business to keep its books while still in her early twenties.
She soon took over the running of the shop chain, which grew to dozens of outlets in the region. That operational experience, combined with her finance background, gave her an understanding of both betting margins and cash management. When she moved into online betting she brought in her brother John to lead the sports side while she oversaw the company as a whole, a division of roles that has largely continued.
Unlike many founders of large online businesses, she has stayed in the city where she grew up, and the company's headquarters have expanded there rather than moving to London.
Philanthropy and public life
In 2012 the family set up the bet365 Foundation, which receives large annual contributions from the company and funds charities in Stoke-on-Trent and further afield, with a focus on health, education and disadvantaged communities. It has become one of the larger charitable trusts in the United Kingdom by annual giving. The same year Coates was appointed CBE for services to the community and business.
She rarely gives interviews. Her pay, which in some years has been among the highest of any executive in the United Kingdom, has drawn regular criticism from campaigners and gambling reform groups, and bet365, like other operators, has faced fines and scrutiny from regulators over its safeguards for customers.