The world of boardrooms and CEOs is often touted as being one of the last bastions of male domination but, if so, it seems somebody forgot to tell Denise Coates
Building one of the Top Online Casinos
Betting may have once had the reputation for being a more male environment but in this area too Denise Coates proved that isn’t necessarily the case. The days of scantily clad female dealers have given way to a shrewder, more sophisticated online offering from the best rated online casinos from around the world. Nowadays online betting sites cover the latest slots and old favorite table games, but also markets that are traditionally seen as more female, such as bingo (with some sites offering free tournament entry bonuses). The sports side, often attached to online casinos, also has a plethora of markets from traditional sports to politics, Strictly Come Dancing, and Sports Personality of the Year. And part of this more female-friendly approach is down to the impressive rise of Denise Coates.
Denise Coates – Innovator
Business is challenging, whoever you are. Denise Coates, CEO of Bet365, stands out as an example of success but is far from the only beacon of female achievement. Humble beginnings were no bar for Jamie King, rising from beauty school dropout to multi-millionaire thanks to a combination of proactivity, boldness, and not being afraid to fail.
Coates started as she meant to go on, with an impeccable school record (including a very sharp mathematical eye) and a first-class degree, before training as an accountant with the family-run business. But the key difference between her and other people was the eye for innovation she had. And that came at precisely the right time.
The internet was just starting to rev up into the social and shopping juggernaut it would become, and this dovetailed perfectly with Coates’ vision of the future. Not only that, her focus on customers and a generally professional attitude attracted more players, including more young bettors and more women. Perhaps the most crucial moment was two decades ago when, at her persuasion, the family mortgaged the business to develop new software. A vision for mobile betting combined with having grown up in a betting family meant Coates possessed the twin gifts of knowing her business inside out and had the mental foresight to plan the way forward. And that way forward proved very lucrative indeed.
Leading the Mobile Revolution
Indeed, such is Coates’ record that she’s been dubbed the most successful woman in Britain and is estimated by Forbes magazine to have a fortune in excess of £9.3bn. In the 20 years since the family took a risk and mortgaged the business they now see 70% of income via mobile betting (made with tablets and smartphones). Nowadays the vast majority of online sportsbooks and casinos come with mobile compatibility as an integral function, many with dedicated apps, but Coates was one of the first to see this coming before it happened, enabling Bet365 to be ahead of the curve and forge ahead of rivals.
In 2019 alone she received a pay packet of £323m, with Bet365 serving millions of customers around the world. And it remains a family-run business despite the scale, with her brother joint chief executive officer and her father as chairman. All that said, it’s Denise Coates who owns half the company and who is largely credited with the astonishing success the firm has achieved in the last couple of decades.
From smart advertising campaigns to spotting the mobile and online potential before most others could, Coates’ familiarity with the betting landscape, head for figures, and bold leadership style has helped her carve out a huge slice of the lucrative British, and international, betting scene for her family firm.
A Global Top 10 Entrepreneur
Coates is not, of course, the only woman to have accrued such eye-watering sums of money during her career. Just as with male entrepreneurs, there’s a mix of female business leaders who have emerged from a standing start to make millions or even billions with others either enjoying a head start due to affluent parents or inheriting enough money to already put them in the upper echelons of wealth.
A couple of years ago it was estimated that there were around 1,810 billionaires in the world, with just over 10% (190) being women. And 33 of those were entrepreneurs, with Denise Coates featuring among the top 10 of these elite business leaders.
Huge progress has been made in recent decades towards equality of the sexes, and while it can appear that certain sectors remain dominated by one gender or the other, it’s undoubtedly the case that individuals with sufficient drive, determination, and wits can achieve fantastic success, with Denise Coates being a stand out example of this.
WRITTEN BY
Clara Rose