Denise Coates
Founder and joint CEO of bet365, one of the world's largest privately held online betting operators and the UK's highest-paid executive.
About Denise Coates
Denise Coates founded bet365 in 2000, building it from the family's licensed betting shops in Stoke-on-Trent into one of the world's largest online betting and gaming companies. She is the majority shareholder and joint Chief Executive Officer. bet365 remains privately held and is consistently among the most profitable operators in the industry.
Current role & focus
Coates leads bet365 as majority owner and joint CEO. The company stays private and tightly held by the Coates family, with Denise driving product and trading.
Background & history
Denise Coates was born in Stoke-on-Trent on 26 September 1967, the eldest daughter of Peter Coates, the businessman and Stoke City F.C. chairman who owned the Provincial Racing chain of betting shops. She attended Sandbach High School and earned a first-class degree in econometrics from the University of Sheffield, having worked as a cashier in her father's shops as a teenager. She returned to Provincial Racing as an accountant and became managing director of the shop estate in 1995. In January 2000 she bought the bet365.com domain, and the online betting site launched in 2001, funded by a 15 million pound loan from RBS secured against the family's betting shops. In 2005 the shop estate was sold to Coral for around 40 million pounds, repaying the loan and leaving bet365 to focus on the online business she has since built into a global operator.
Frequently asked
Founder and joint CEO of bet365, one of the world's largest privately held online betting operators and the UK's highest-paid executive.
Denise Coates is Founder & Joint Chief Executive Officer at bet365.
Denise Coates works in the Operators sector, with a EMEA focus.
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