Probably one of the most popular families in the gambling industry not only in the UK, but also worldwide – the Coates Family – has left its mark on casino, gaming and betting industry. Last year, the owners of the UK betting giant bet365 were ranked on the 24th position in The Sunday Times Richlist for 2016, with their wealth being estimated to £3.8 billion at the time.
The members of the family became some of the largest moguls in the UK gambling industry. According to The Sunday Times report in April 2016, the combined wealth gained by Peter, Denise and John Coates over the twelve-month period amounted to £1.4 billion.
The Coates family has undoubtedly contributed a lot to the country’s gambling industry, with their innovative ideas and long-year experience. The face of UK casino, betting and gaming business has changed forever with the establishment of bet365, various business initiatives, as well as with the bet365 Foundation. The latter was created in August 2012 by Denise and John Coates and has contributed donations of £100 million to a large number of charities in the UK to support their projects both on the territory of the country and worldwide.
Peter Coates
Father Peter, his daughter Denise and son John Coates have turned bet365 in one of the most successful gambling companies that have ever operated in the business.
Born in 1938, Peter Coates is the current Chairman of the Stoke City Football Club and is considered as one of the richest people in British football. The businessman have started working at the age of fourteen, gathering experience in different sectors. In the 1960s, he founded Stadia Catering, a catering firm that specialised in football grounds servicing. Later, in 1983, he found Signal Radio.
Denise Coates
The businesswoman is best known for the fact that she is a founder and joint Chief Executive Officer of the online gambling company bet365. In 2016, Denise Coates was listed in the Richlist of the Forbes magazine, with her personal fortune being estimated to about £1.65 billion.
The business career of the eldest daughter of Peter Coates started while Denise was still in school. At first, she started work in the family bookmaking firm Provincial Racing, and after leaving university, she got even more involved in the family business.
At the beginning of the year 2000, Denise Coates acquired the domain name bet365.com and spent the year creating an online betting website and a trading team. The website was officially launched in 2001. Since then, the company grew into one of the biggest online operators in the gambling sector on a global scale. Currently, the business is still run by Denise and her brother John Coates, with her being the majority shareholder in the company, holding a 50.01% stake.
John Coates
The English businessman is the other joint Chief Executive Officer of bet365 apart from his sister Denise. He has also been listed by the Forbes magazine in its annual richlist at the 29th position, holding a personal fortune estimated to about £850 million.
John Coates studied law at the Bristol University. Despite the fact he started his career as a lawyer, his sister Denise managed to convince him to join her in the establishment of bet365 in 2001, after some of Peter Coates’ betting shops were sold to the bookmaker Coral.
bet365
As for the gambling giant bet365, the company was established in 2000 in Stoke-on-Trent by the Coates family. The operator is headed by Denise Coates and has a present market value between £3.5 and £4 billion.
The company’s existence started as a sports betting platform under the lead of Denise Coates who also formed a trading team to launch the business over the Internet in March 2001. Currently, the online gambling operator offers casino, poker, sports betting, bingo and other games. In addition, the operator provides its customers with the opportunity to take advantage of video streams on sporting events.
When it comes to sports betting operations, bet365 holds a licence issued by the Government of Gibraltar and is regulated by the local Gambling Commissioner. The Government of Gibraltar has also licensed the company’s casino, games and poker operations.
The headquarters of bet365 are located in Stoke-on-Trent, but the casino, betting and gaming operator also has offices in Gibraltar and Australia, with the Australian division licensed and regulated by the Northern Territory Government.
- Author
Harry Evans
