British gambling company
Bet365 is a British gambling company founded in 2000. Its
product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online⚽️ poker, and online
bingo. Business operations are conducted from its headquarters in Stoke-on-Trent,
alongside a satellite office in Malta. It⚽️ was founded by Denise Coates, who remains the
majority shareholder and joint-chief executive, alongside her brother John
Coates.
Overview [ edit⚽️ ]
Bet365 is an online gambling company offering sports betting
and casino type games.
In addition to the company headquarters in Stoke-on-Trent,
⚽️ Bet365 have further offices in Manchester, Gibraltar,[1] Malta,[2] Bulgaria and
Australia. The group employed over 4,000 people as of 2024.[3][4]
Bet365⚽️ is a trading
name of Hillside (New Media) Ltd.[5] and operations.
History [ edit ]
Bet365 was
founded in 2000 in a⚽️ portable building[3] in Stoke-on-Trent by Denise Coates. Denise
developed a sports betting platform and trading team to launch the business⚽️ online in
March 2001. The business borrowed £15 million from Royal Bank of Scotland against the
family's betting shop estate⚽️ which had been started by Peter Coates in 1974 and had
been run by Denise Coates as managing director from⚽️ 1995. Bet365 sold its betting shop
chain in 2005 for £40 million to Coral and paid off its loan to⚽️ RBS.[6]
Bet365 chairman
Peter Coates was also the chairman at Stoke City and in May 2012 Bet365 signed a
three-year contract⚽️ with the club to become shirt sponsors.[7] In April 2024, the
company became the new title sponsors for the club's⚽️ stadium for the next six seasons,
replacing fellow local enterprise the Britannia Building Society.[8] In the summer of
2024, Bet365⚽️ also signed shirt sponsorship deals with Bulgarian clubs Ludogorets
Razgrad and Slavia Sofia for the upcoming two seasons.[9][failed verification]
Bet365's
reported⚽️ figures (March 2024-21) showed revenues of £2.8 billion and a profit of £470
million before tax.[10]
Denise Coates, joint chief executive,⚽️ continues to run Bet365
and is the majority shareholder with 50.1% of the shares. Her brother John, joint chief
executive,⚽️ runs the business alongside her, with her father Peter holding the position
of chairman.
In the summer of 2024, the largest⚽️ UK bookmakers and online casino
operators William Hill, GVC Holdings, Flutter Entertainment, Stars Group and Bet365
entered into an agreement⚽️ to transfer funds to combat gambling addiction. They agreed
to increase the amount from 0.1% to 1% of gross income⚽️ in the next five years. The
initiative was welcomed by a harm reduction group, but also received criticism for its
⚽️ perceived inadequacy; one MP described it as "a bribe to appease campaigners and the UK
government".[11]
Overseas operations [ edit ]
In⚽️ 2024, shortly after the U.S. Supreme
Court ruling on sports betting allowed U.S. states to regulate sports betting, Bet365
announced⚽️ plans to launch in the United States starting with the state of New Jersey
with a partnership with Hard Rock⚽️ Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.[12] The company
would later announce in September 2024 that Bet365 will launch in Colorado⚽️ with a
licensing and revenue share deal with Century Casinos. Bet365 opened up operations in
Colorado on 6 September 2024.[13][14]
In⚽️ April 2024, Bet365 was also launched in
Ontario after it was approved by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario⚽️ to
conduct sports betting activities in the province following the passing of a new
Canadian law that legalized single-game betting.[15]
Awards⚽️ and achievements [ edit
]
At the eGaming Review Operator Awards 2010 organised by eGaming Review magazine,
Bet365 won the "Operator⚽️ of the Year" award.[16] Bet365 ranked third in The Sunday
Times Profit Track 100 league table, which ranks private companies⚽️ in the UK based on
profit growth rate.[17] Bet365 was also ranked as one of the fastest growing privately
owned⚽️ technology, media and telecoms companies in The Sunday Times Tech Track 100
league table.
eGaming Review magazine has ranked Bet365 the⚽️ number one Internet gaming
company in 2010, 2011 and 2012 as part of its annual Power 50 list of the⚽️ top 50 most
influential Internet gaming companies.[18] Denise Coates, founder and joint CEO of
Bet365, received a CBE in the⚽️ 2012 Queen's new year honours list for services to the
community and business.[19] In February 2013 Denise Coates was named⚽️ as one of the 100
most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour at BBC Radio 4.[20]
In
December⚽️ 2024, Bet365 won the coveted SBC Bookmaker of the Year for the third
consecutive year.
Controversies [ edit ]
In October 2014,⚽️ The Guardian newspaper
reported that the company had been taking bets from Chinese citizens by using obscure
domain names in⚽️ order to avoid government web censorship.[21]
In 2024, Bet365 was
finedR$2.75 million AUD by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission for
⚽️ misleading advertisements which falsely promised "free bets" to customers.[22]
Denise
Coates became the highest paid executive in the UK in 2024,⚽️ awarding herself a salary
of £217 million.[23] In 2024, her pay packet rose to £265m as the company reported
profits⚽️ up 31% to £660 million, prompting criticism from problem gambling charity
groups.[24] In January 2024, Bet365 ranked second on The⚽️ Sunday Times list of the UK's
top taxpayers, with the Coates family (Denise, John and Peter) paying an estimated
total⚽️ tax of £156 million, of which £99 million was paid by Denise alone.[25]
Further
criticism highlights repeated cases of Bet365 delaying⚽️ or denying payment to winning
players. For example, Bet365 was taken to court for refusing to pay over £1 million⚽️ in
winnings to a horse bettor in Northern Ireland in 2024.[26] The company refused a
payout of £54,000 to a⚽️ customer in England in 2024, a case which was still ongoing in
2024.[27][28] In Australia, Bet365 froze the account of⚽️ a punter who had won
aroundR$200,000 AUD in 2024, refusing to pay out.[29] These are just some of the most
⚽️ noteworthy instances; several more cases of Bet365 refusing to pay winnings have been
reported by gamblers on Internet gambling forums.[30][31]
Although⚽️ gambling is illegal
in most jurisdictions of India, Bet365 nonetheless conducted surrogate advertising in
the country. India's consumer affairs ministry⚽️ served notices to various television
channels and apps for promoting gambling companies and asked them to stop showing ads
from⚽️ Bet365 and other betting platforms immediately.[32]
Media [ edit ]
In the UK, the
face of Bet365, since 2010, has been actor⚽️ Ray Winstone.[33]
