Coates family maintains top-20 spot in The Sunday Times Rich List
Newspaper’s annual rundown of Britain’s richest individuals shows bet365 founders’ wealth has risen to almost £8.8bn
Bet365 owners Denise, John and Peter Coates moved up one position to 16th in The Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated collective fortune of more than £8.79bn.
The family, who also own Stoke City Football Club, saw their wealth rise by £158m over the past 12 months, the newspaper revealed.
Founded in 2000 by Denise Coates and initially run from a Stoke-on-Trent car park, bet365 evolved into a global online gambling empire with annual revenue of £2.85bn.
Independent bookmaker Will Roseff, who helped Denise Coates establish bet365 and who still holds a 6.7% stake in the online operator, was a new entrant in the Rich List at 282nd with an estimated personal fortune of £506m.
After the Coates family, the wealthiest person with links to the gambling industry was Mark Scheinberg, an Israel-Canadian businessman and investor who is thought to be worth £4.33bn.
Along with his father, Isai, Mark Scheinberg launched PokerStars in 2001 and, 13 years later, sold what had become the world’s largest poker site to Amaya Gaming for $4.9bn.
Last month, it was reported the investment firm owned by Mark Scheinberg forked out £441m for Tao Group, the owner of Michelin-starred Hakkasan in London and a number of high-end restaurants across the globe.
Israeli Teddy Sagi, who founded Playtech in 1999 and today owns a London property empire, maintained his 47th position this year with a personal fortune of £4bn, the newspaper said.
Meanwhile, Betfred founders Fred and Peter Done saw their wealth swell by more than £400m to £1.87bn to finish 93rd, a jump of 27 places.
In January, The Sunday Times Tax List showed the Done and Coates families were among the top five biggest UK taxpayers.
Continuing with the Rich List, Ruth Parasol and family were placed in 221st with £780m.
Parasol, along with three partners, launched PartyGaming in 1997 partly from the proceeds of her successful web pornography and phone sex-line business.
The newspaper suggested the 56-year-old has made at least £620m from PartyGaming over the years.
PartyGaming, which floated in 2005 and merged with bwin to form bwin.party five years later, has been owned by Entain since 2017.
Brighton and Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom was another new entrant in 286th position thanks to personal fortune thought to be in the region of £500m.
After working for Gibraltar-based bookmaker Victor Chandler in the 1990s, Bloom launched online operator Premier Bet on the eve of the 2002 World Cup before later selling the operation for £1m.
He also founded the highly secretive sports betting analytics firm Starlizard in 2006 and later established himself as one of the biggest gamblers in the world as well as a property tycoon.
The Rich List was headed by Sri and Gopi Hinduja (£35bn), followed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe (£29.7bm) and Sir Leonard Blavatnik (£28.6bn) in second and third, respectively.
Ukrainian-born business magnate Blavatnik has bankrolled sports streaming platform DAZN, which last year expanded into sports betting with the creation of DAZN Bet based out of Gibraltar and run by industry veterans.