Bet365: UK's best-paid employer strikes ₤ 323m jackpot

Bet365 boss Denise Coates has received a ₤ 323m payday, verifying her position as the UK's best paid executive.

The co-founder of the online betting firm was paid a ₤ 277m income plus dividends as the appeal of online gambling continues to grow.

The company's accounts, external show that in the year to end-March her wage rose from ₤ 220m on the previous period.

But the increase comes as the industry dealt with mounting criticism, consisting of over children gambling.

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The privately held company is owned collectively by Ms Coates and members of her direct family, including her sibling John, who is joint president, and her father Peter, the firm's chairman.

Ms Coates earned a superior degree in econometrics - the application of statistical methods to economic information - from Sheffield University before signing up with the High Street wagering firm, run by her dad.

She identified the capacity of online betting in 2000 and purchased the domain name Bet365.com so that she might drive the household company because instructions.

Bet365 made a profit before tax of ₤ 791m in the year, compared to ₤ 661m the year before.

The company paid dividends of ₤ 92.5 m, half of which are thought to have actually gone to Ms Coates, as the owner of about half of Bet365's shares.

The group of firms owns Stoke City Football Club, which made a loss of ₤ 8.7 m in the year.

The High Pay Centre, a think tank which monitors earnings, said the timing of the release of the Bet365 results looked "negative", offered it was just after a general election.

High Pay Centre executive director Luke Hildyard stated: "This appears like cynical timing, sneaked out straight after a basic election project where excess wealth, taxes on the abundant and the huge gap in between those at the leading and everyone else have actually been essential concerns."

He included: "Business success ought to be incentivised and rewarded, but a payment a fraction of this promotion code size would still manage a way of life beyond the wildest dreams of many people."

Mr Hildyard stated there was "plainly scope" for those building up such amounts to pay their workers more or contribute more in taxes.

Child betting

In October, Cardiff University research study suggested that two-fifths of 11 to 16-year-olds had actually gambled in the past year.

the yohaig code study stated this promotion code was "especially worrying, considered that across the UK, a lot of types of business gaming are just legal for those aged 18 and over".

Slot machine were the most popular type of betting, followed by playing cards for cash with buddies and scratchcards.

Dr Graham Moore of the Centre for the Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement stated at the time: "The proof shows that people who bet previously in life are most likely to become problem gamblers in adulthood."

However, a Gambling Commission research study in October, external suggested that 11% of children had gambled within a week of the survey being carried out.

But in addition, the regulator warned in July, external of research that showed links between "issue gambling and suicidal thoughts or efforts".

Bet365 states it has "an undeviating dedication to deliver industry-leading techniques to gamer protection", consisting of tracking customer gambling, and says it will "terminate the [consumer] relationship if it feels the risk of damage is expensive".

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15 October 2019