Boss rises above gambling misery to become UK’s best-paid director with £265m payday
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While the UK’s growing gambling obsession has been described as “a public health emergency” afflicting more than 2 million people, the co-founder of one online betting firm has announced that her bank balance has never looked in better shape after paying herself a staggering £265 million.
Bet365’s latest accounts reveal that co-founder Denise Coates’s pay including dividends for last year was £48 million higher than the total she received the year before.
Privately held company Bet365 is owned jointly by Ms Coates and members of her direct family, including her brother John who is joint chief executive and her father Peter, the firm’s chairman.
Last year Ms Coates’ pay and dividends were reported to total £217 million.
In the year to the end of March her basic pay rose from £199 million to £220 million.
The firm paid out £90m in dividends in the same year, half of which are thought to have gone to Ms Coates, as the owner of half of Bet365’s shares.
Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable described the “eye-watering” pay packet as “irresponsible and excessive”.
“In any circumstance it is hard to justify, but more so given the money comes from people struggling with compulsive gambling,” Mr Cable said.
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