Bet365: Coates family no longer top UK taxpayers

The family has fallen to second position in The Times’ annual list.

UK.- The owners of UK gambling operator bet365 Group have slipped from their position as the highest UK taxpayers. According to The Times’ annual list, the Coates family, which also owns Hillside Technology holding and Stoke City FC, paid 75 per cent less tax in the last year, dropping to second place.

The Times reports that the Coates family paid £460.2m in UK taxes in 2022 after the company reported an 89 per cent drop in revenue from £424.7m to £45.6m and a 94.6 per cent drop in operating profit from £285.5m to £15.4m. Coates cut her own pay by £15m as a result. 

Meanwhile, Fred and Peter Done, owners of Betfred, paid £542.4m in tax. This year’s figures come as the gambling industry continues to await the publication of the government’s gambling white paper, which minister Paul Scully said is due to be published in the next few weeks.

Scully told the Betting and Gaming Council’s Annual General Meeting that the paper will balance business and consumer interests but again stressed that its publication will not be the end of the reform process.

Carys Roberts, chief executive of the think tank IPPR, criticised UK firms that reduced their tax burden through overseas registered offices. Betfred’s online business operates out of Gibraltar as Petfre although its headquarters is in Salford.

Bet365 has offices in both Gibraltar and Malta as well as its HQ in Stoke-on-Trent. However, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) regularly signals the high tax contributed by the companies.