Denise Coates is a multi-billionaire and one of the richest people in Britain.
Having founded the online gambling giant Bet365 at the turn of the century, she is one of the highest-paid executives in the UK.
But keeping away from the public limelight, the entrepreneur has for years been a figure of mystery. She admitted in 2012: “I really don’t enjoy the attention. The public side does not come naturally to me.”
Here, Money Maker Times takes a look at who exactly Denise Coates is and how much the Bet365 founder is worth.
Denise Coates’s early life and involvement in the family business
Denise Coates was born on September 26, 1967, to Peter and Deirdre Coates.
Peter was the chairman of Stoke City football club and had earned his money as an entrepreneur after founding Stadia Catering, which focused on catering at football grounds. After later merging with one of his competitors, he used the money to purchase a chain of betting shops, which he named Provincial Racing.
When Denise Coates was still a student in the 1980s, she used to spend her school holidays working as a cashier in one of the shops.
Upon graduating in 1988 from the University of Sheffield with a first-class degree in econometrics, Denise returned to Provincial Racing to work in the family firm as an accountant.
Seven years later, her dad appointed her as managing director.
But while Provincial Racing was proving to be a very successful business, as the internet was born, Denise had her eye on a completely different future.
Denise Coates and Bet365
Just days after the turn of the century, in January 2000, Denise Coates bought the website domain name Bet365.com for $25,000.
At 33 years old, she was certain online betting was the way forward.
Coates explained in a rare interview: “I was convinced early on that gambling would work well on the internet.
“It is private, accessible and allows you to present a huge range of betting opportunities to customers.”
Going digital was something of an obsession for Coates. Her brother John recalls her repeatedly saying at the time: “This is what we’re going to do, this is what we’re going to do.”
Coates persuaded John to quit his job as a lawyer and join her in her venture. In 2001, Bet365 was officially launched, with the family taking out a £15million loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to fund the plan.
Four years later, in 2005, the family had sold off all of their high street betting shops for £40million. The sale paid off the RBS loan and allowed the business to focus purely on its online offering.
Bet365 was ahead of the curve. While most other bookies were still getting their heads around the opportunities offered by the internet, when the iPhone brought about the dawn of the smart phone just a couple of years later, Coates was ready.
In the years that followed, Coates worked around the clock to help the business grow.
“You start a 24/7 business and you work 24/7,” she explained in an interview.
“When you’re not here [in the office], you take calls in the middle of the night, regularly – that’s how the early days were.
“I’ve worked harder than you can possibly imagine.”
The hard work paid off, and the business’s success just kept growing. Last year, Bet365 generated approximately £4.03billion in revenue.
What is Denise Coates’s net worth?
Denise Coates is thought to have a net worth of approximately £7.5-8billion.
In 2018, Coates was the highest-paid woman in the world, and her annual pay packet alone as CEO of Bet360 used to be over £220million.
However, she recently took a pay cut and is now paid almost £95million.
Despite the significant salary reduction, her payslip is not the only way Coates makes money from Bet360.
She also earns a considerable sum through dividends in the company. In 2025 was entitled to an additional £176million payment due to her majority stake.
How much tax does Denise Coates pay?
Denise Coates is one of the UK’s highest taxpayers. In February 2026, it was claimed Coates and her wider family pay a total of £227.1million in tax a year.
