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1 How Bet365's Denise Coates Hit her Own Jackpot

ByRebecca Marston Business press reporter, BBC News
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Denise Coates, the billionaire employer of Bet365, included another ₤ 323m to her wealth today after the business her household established racked up another year of substantial profits.
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She's been called the UK's most effective female, with a fortune that Forbes publication puts in the area of ₤ 9.3 bn.

Most strikingly, she has made that largely herself.

Bet365 is Stoke-on-Trent's largest private sector employer, with more than 4,600 personnel. It provides its countless around the world customers sports betting, poker, casino, games and bingo. The firm had a ₤ 3bn turnover in the year to the end of March and an earnings before tax of ₤ 791m.
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Ms Coates' bro John is joint chief executive and her dad Peter is the company's chairman, however Denise Coates owns half the business and there's no doubt the success is mostly hers.

LISTEN: Profile: Denise Coates

Bet365 boss sees to ₤ 265m

Serious gamblers tend to have a "system", an allegedly sure-fire method that will keep on bringing rewards. So what's her "system"?

Return to the 1990s and there aren't many who would have gambled on the small family-run chain of local betting shops growing to such a size.

A lot is down to her mathematical talent, which was impressive from an early age. David Owen taught her at secondary school in the 1980s.

"She got everything right, only asked pertinent questions and was angelically behaved. She was plainly off the scale. If we were talking Mensa, she 'd be in the top 1%," he told the BBC.

'More women'
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She achieved a top-notch degree in econometrics and trained as an accountant within the household company, building further on the knowledge of the small chain that she selected up while working part-time during high school.

As well as an extremely keen eye for figures - the heart of any successful bookie - she is also a moderniser.

Among her associates, Debbie Tatton, informed the BBC: "When Denise came, she wanted a closer relationship between the staff and the customers. We ended up being a lot more professional, a lot more customer-focused. A great deal of younger people began coming in, as well as a lot more ladies."
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In 2000, Ms Coates upped the stakes and convinced the family to mortgage business to permit them to develop brand-new software.

Her sibling says she ended up being fixated on the potential for online gambling and ended up being a leader because service.

Establishing headquarters in a momentary structure in a parking lot, Ms Coates called it the supreme gamble, buying the domain Bet365.com so that she might drive business because direction.

'Innate knowledge'

"She's extremely intelligent and really figured out," states Warwick Bartlett, from global betting and gaming experts GBGC.
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"She is also efficient in taking a look at the big photo. Betfair was the innovator in in-play wagering, but she was generally the very first to harness mobile innovation, recognising that bettors anywhere would be able to bank on sporting occasions."

A big 70% of earnings now comes through wagering on tablets and phones.

She is helped, Mr Bartlett states, by the truth that she, uniquely, really knows the market. "The Coates family are third-generation bookies. They have actually discovered the service from moms and dads and grandparents.

"She has a natural understanding of what the bettor is trying to find. A lot of the business nowadays have managers that may have originated from [other sectors] They are expert managers who attempt to use their knowledge got from selling beans or margarines."
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Ad controversy

Mr Bartlett says close knowledge of another business has helped with the in-play football income: Bet365 owns regional club Stoke City.

"Owning a football club provided an insight into the way the Premier League worked. Stoke City, not so effective itself, has actually played groups that actually are," he states.

"On top of the contact with the experts they benefit from coverage through the sponsorship of the team. Bet365 has great exposure every time Stoke are included."
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Ms Coates' dad is chairman of Stoke and has a higher public profile than she does.

But the name best associated with Bet365 is, of course, Ray Winstone, whose gravelly tones used to prompt punters to "bet in play - NOW!" before the advertisements were pulled.

Again, Warwick Bartlett states, Ms Coates got it right. "Using Ray confirms my point about 365, they understand their consumers. He's a middle-aged guy and a bit of a geezer.

"Cleverly, Bet365 use comparable types to attract their consumers in other markets. In Australia, it's Samuel L Jackson - he stumbles upon in the advert as an extremely cool guy."

Bet365 continues to keep one step ahead. It's moving into the US as the market there opens up.

But while Denise Coates' company brain believes international, she herself is likely to remain rooted in Stoke.

UK's best-paid boss earns ₤ 265m

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