When you are one of the most successful business leaders in the UK, and you have a reputation for being the quiet Queen of online betting, it is no wonder that the USA looks like rich pickings. Denise Coates is one of the CEOs of bet365, the world’s biggest online gaming operator. She runs the company with her brother John Coates and has now set her sights on the US.
The Rise of bet365
Coates purchased the domain name bet365 way back at the beginning of 2000, and it cost her £20,000. At the time, her brother was an attorney, but she persuaded him to join her. Initially, securing any investment in her business proved challenging. She tried London’s capitalist elite initially but had no success. Finally, the Royal Bank of Scotland loaned her £14 million by using the Provincial Racing chain as security and collateral. It is safe to say that very few people shared her vision back in the early days.
Just start with headquarters was a mere Portakabin located in one of the family betting shop car parks. She was a pioneer of online gambling. Since then, Coates has been responsible for creating what is now an empire worth several billion dollars and employing over 5000 people. Provincial Racing, the initially successful business owned by the family and put up as collateral, became redundant, and in 2015 she sold it to Coral Betting for £40 million.
The US Gambling Industry
Over the last few years, the US gambling industry has seen massive change. It started when the power to regulate sports books was devolved to each individual state and legalised if they so wished. Gambling seems to be a rolling industry that, once it starts, cannot be stopped, and now many states in America have a lot of them registered casino and sports betting operators registered. It makes sense that Coates would look to expand the bet365 empire across the water. She has recently just gained permission and can now go live in the US. This is good news, although it is a very competitive marketplace already.
January 2023
In January 2023, the fourth US market opened to bet365, and they entered an agreement to operate online sports betting and iGaming in Pennsylvania, working with Churchill Downs Inc. In 2019 they began operations in New Jersey; in 2022, they took on Colorado and more recently, Ohio came on board. This seems to be somewhat of a Conservative approach for the Queen of online betting, although it certainly fits the quiet approach. Speaking about the partnership, Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said, “Our relationship with bet365 enables us to maximise the value of our company’s sports betting and iGaming market access in Pennsylvania. Once live, the world’s favourite online sports betting brand will be available to sports fans in Pennsylvania, offering fantastic site features, including Bet Boosts, Same Game Parlay, Cash Out and Edit Bet, on top of our market-leading sign-up offer.”
Experts in the industry have already predicted that the bet365 empire is on track to expand rapidly across the US during 2023. They say to expect multiple state launches. In the year ending March 2020 to be generated revenue from bet365 was £2.85 billion, which equated to a growth rate year-on-year of 2.3%. While the agreement with Churchill Downs has been made, regulatory requirements will still have to be met, so at this stage, it is subject to contract and not clear when it will officially be able to launch its products in the Pennsylvania area.
