Stoke City demerges from bet365 group 

The club is now owned outright by bet365 co-CEO John Coates.

UK.- Stoke City Football Club is now owned directly by bet365 co-CEO John Coates after Stoke City Holdings Limited and Stoke City (Property) Limited demerged from the gambling operator. Stoke City’s stadium and training ground are now fully owned by the club, which has wiped its debts through the transaction.

The group said the change in ownership model was made for licensing reasons and was “the best, most sustainable way for bet365 to continue its global expansion”. The club’s Board of Directors will remain the same, consisting of John Coates, Richard Smith and Peter Coates.

Coates said: “My family and I remain steadfast in our commitment to Stoke City, so it’s very much business as usual. Infrastructure projects at the stadium and our training facility will continue during the coming years at pace, and Potters’ supporters can rest assured that investment in the playing squad will continue to be maximised within our competition rules.”

He added: “Everything we do is geared towards bringing long-term success to Stoke City and representing our fanbase and local community in a way that makes people proud.”

Bet365 remains based in Stoke-on-Trent, where it was founded, and it has a long connection to the city’s biggest team, including stadium naming rights and shirt sponsorship. The change follows the creation of a new code of conduct for gambling agreements in football, but the ownership change is not said to be related. As a second-tier team, Stoke will not be affected by the upcoming ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship in the Premier League.