Bet365 CEO Coates Banked £300M Despite Pay and Dividend Cuts

Bet365, an online gambling brand operating out of Stoke-on-Trent in the UK, announced broadly flat revenues for the financial year ended March 28, 2021, yet its founder and co-chief executive officer Denise Coates reportedly took home nearly £300 million ($400 million).

Highest Paid Director

54-year-old Coates was paid a £250 million ($333 million) salary and more than 50% share of the company’s dividend of £97.5 million ($130 million), bringing her total close to £300 million ($400 million). And Coates took a roughly £170 million ($227 million) cut in pay and dividends according to the filings.

Coates, who is the highest paid director at bet365 according to her spokesperson, was not the only one to take a pay cut in the year marred by the pandemic as reduced pay packets for directors were the main driver behind the increase in operating profit of 47% year-over-year to £285.5 million ($380 million).

Companies House accounts show bet365 reported £2.818 billion ($3.756 billion) in revenues in the second financial year of the pandemic, marginally up from £2.811 billion ($3.747 billion) the business registered in the previous year.

“At the start of the period we experience the almost complete cessation of sporting events, however by the end of the first half of the year, we saw the resumption of sports with the vast majority of European football leagues managing to conclude their domestic seasons.”

bet365

According to the firm, the surge in online gaming helped the business offset the significant disruption to the sporting calendars worldwide which impacted sports wagering through postponed or canceled events, much like the year before.

Rise to the Billionaire’s Club

Coates founded bet365 almost two decades ago after taking over a small chain of betting shops her father owned on the side. She graduated econometrics at Sheffield University and trained to become an accountant.

At the age of 22, Coates became managing director of the business and expanded the number of betting shops prior to shifting operations online. She is now among the UK’s richest women and has earned more than $1.8 billion in the past ten years according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Coates and her family are the owners of Stoke City Football Club.

Bet365 was among the top three contributors to GambleAware, the UK charity committed to minimizing gambling harm through responsible gambling, alongside William Hill and Entain.

The online gaming brand just condemned the war in Ukraine and decided to cease all operations in Russia.