Gambling mogul Denise Coates has recently earned an additional £260 million, bringing her total payouts to £2.7 billion over the last 15 years. As the leader of Bet365, she solidified her position as one of the highest-paid executives and top-earning women in the UK with this latest financial boost.
According to the recently disclosed financial reports of her family’s gambling enterprise, Coates received a staggering salary of £104 million, marking an increase from £94.7 million in the previous year. Bet365 Group also tripled the cash dividends distributed to family stakeholders, totaling £313.6 million in the past year, a substantial portion of which went to Coates due to her significant ownership stake in the company.
Although the approximately £260 million windfall is slightly lower than her record-breaking £469 million in 2021, it surpasses the earnings of other prominent corporate leaders in the UK. Notable figures such as Eamonn O’Hare, Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca, and Peter Dilnot of Melrose Industries received significantly lower paychecks compared to Coates.
This latest payout further bolsters the financial standing of the Coates family, who were ranked as the 16th wealthiest individuals in Britain by the Sunday Times Rich List, with an estimated wealth of £9.44 billion. Coates, known for her aversion to publicity, founded Bet365 in a temporary structure within a Stoke-on-Trent car park back in 2000.
The family is also recognized for their substantial tax contributions, with the group’s total tax payment to the UK Exchequer amounting to £481.5 million, an increase from the previous year’s £364 million. Additionally, significant charitable donations totaling £130 million were made to the Denise Coates Foundation in the last fiscal year.
The Foundation, structured as a company with trustees, allocated funds to various institutions, including substantial grants to The University Hospitals of North Midlands Charity for essential medical equipment. Stoke City football club, formerly owned by the Coates family through Bet365, was transferred to Ms. Coates’ brother in 2021, showing a significant financial loss.
Despite Bet365’s revenue growth of 9% to over £4 billion in the latest financial year, the profit before tax nearly halved to £348.7 million. The impact of increased online gambling taxes, as announced in the recent Budget by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, was not factored into the accounts. Bet365 emphasizes its commitment to providing a safe gambling environment for customers and ongoing investments in responsible gambling practices.