bet365 is a British gambling company founded in 2000 by Denise Coates, who remains the majority shareholder and joint-CEO alongside her brother John, with their father Peter serving as chairman. Starting in a portable building in Stoke-on-Trent, the company borrowed £15 million from the Royal Bank of Scotland to launch its online platform in 2001, later selling its betting shop chain in 2005 for £40 million. The firm is a prominent sponsor of Stoke City FC, and in 2019 it joined other major bookmakers to increase funding for gambling addiction treatment from 0.1% to 1% of gross income. Financially, it reported revenues of £4 billion and pre-tax profits of £349 million in 2024, with Denise Coates earning at least £280 million in 2025, making her the highest-paid woman in Britain. Globally, bet365 expanded into the US (New Jersey in 2018, Colorado in 2022), Ontario, Canada (2022), and Brazil (2025), while ceasing operations in China in March 2025. Employing over 10,000 people as of 2026, the Coates family's fortune is estimated at £9.44 billion, ranking them 16th richest in the UK.