Outrageous $281 Million Salary of Gambling Executive Deemed Excessive and Unjustifiable
The founder of Bet365, a gambling company, earned an exorbitant salary of $281 million in the last financial year, which has been criticized as unreasonable and disproportionate by a campaign group concerned about the negative impacts of gambling
In the last financial year ending March 26, 2023, the founder and boss of Bet365, a gambling company, earned a salary of approximately $281 million (£221 million). According to company accounts published on Sunday, Denise Coates, the joint-chief executive and majority shareholder of Bet365, also received at least 50% of the company's $127 million (£100 million) in dividends on top of her salary, leading to criticism from a campaign group that described the figure as not "sensible or proportionate."
Her base salary is higher by approximately $10 million compared to the previous year, despite Bet365 recording pre-tax losses of around $77 million (£60.2 million). The company accounts attribute the losses to "a significant increase in costs associated with entering into new markets."
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Bet365 did not respond to CNNs request for comment.
Coates' salary is bringing in criticism due to its size, making her the highest-paid woman in Britain and one of the highest-paid chief executives globally, as reported by the BBC. This has sparked controversy, especially in the midst of the UK's cost-of-living crisis. "While people should be recognized for their innovation and success, there is a concern about what is reasonable and proportionate," stated Luke Hildyard, executive director of the High Pay Centre, in a message sent to CNN on Monday.
No one becomes a multi-billionaire in a vacuum. Their wealth is reliant on money from gamblers, the hard work of thousands of employees, and various societal factors such as disposable income, a stable internet network, and the infrastructure necessary for staging sports events.
In the end, the prosperity of Britain hinges on how the wealth generated by our economy is distributed. Continuously adding hundreds of millions of pounds to billionaire fortunes each year is not an effective way to maximize living standards and it overestimates the impact of the super-rich.
The Bet365 headquarters are located in the English city of Stoke-on-Trent.
The most recent financial records of Bet365 reveal that the company made a $127 million (£100 million) contribution to the Denise Coates Foundation, which supports various charitable initiatives in the UK and abroad.
The Coates family was ranked as the UK's second highest tax payer in 2023, with a contribution of approximately $585 million (£460 million) according to the Sunday Times. Forbes estimates the Coates' worth to be $7 billion, with 56-year-old Denise Coates having purchased the Bet365.com domain in 2000 and launching the website in 2001.
The company is based in Stoke-on-Trent, employing over 7,500 people worldwide and serving more than 90 million customers annually. Additionally, Bet365 Group Limited owns Stoke City Football Club, which competes in the second tier of English soccer and reported pre-tax losses of $15.8 million (£12.4 million) last year.
Gambling-related harms
The companys success is a testament to the UKs interest in gambling.
In the year leading up to March 2023, 44% of adults in the country took part in gambling activities, as reported by the Gambling Commission. During the same period, the British gambling industry generated a total gross yield of $19.2 billion (£15.1 billion) between April 2022 and March 2023.
The government has identified the gambling industry as a key area of concern due to addiction issues. According to a 2023 UK government review, 0.5% of the adult population have a gambling problem, 3.8% are at risk of developing one, and 7% are negatively impacted by other people's gambling.
An economic analysis in the same review found that the annual excess direct financial cost to the government in relation to harmful gambling is equivalent to $525.6 million (£412.9 million).
