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. The platform joined the official list of operators approved by the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance in February 2025, following the approval of the sports betting regulatory framework in the country. Her brother John, co-chief executive, runs the business alongside her, with their father Peter serving as chairman.
Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Several other cases of bet365 refusing to pay winnings have been reported by gamblers on Internet gambling forums. Denise was again criticised in 2024, after she received payouts of more than £270 million the year before, including a salary of £220.7 million and dividends of £50 million, despite the company posting a £60 million loss. Denise Coates became the highest paid uk betting sites not on gamstop executive in the UK in 2017, awarding herself a salary of £217 million.
