Bet365: Under the hood
Back in 2013, the Guardian ran an article stating that Bet365’s online revenue was bigger than that of Ladbrokes and William Hill combined. After starting its operations from a portacabin in 2001 the online bookmakers are now the biggest private-sector employers in Stoke, where the company is based. Let’s take a closer look at the company’s rise to fame…
General history
Bet365 began life in 2000, and was founded by Denise Coates. Having worked as a cashier in her father Peter’s betting shops, she became manager of the whole chain after finishing university in 1995. Determined to grow the family business, Coates saw an opportunity in the rise of the internet during the late-1990s and early-2000s.
Coates bought the Bet365.com domain name in 2000 and set to work, before launching the site in March 2001. Today Bet365 has millions of customers across the globe and is now the biggest online bookmaker in the UK.
What have Bet365 pioneered?
Having been set up around the time of the dotcom crash of the early-2000s, the move into online betting was certainly a gamble for Denise Coates. Yet Bet365 have never been afraid to try new things. When it moved its website to HTML5, a new version of the standard web code, this was seen as a risk.
Yet the use of HTML5 allowed the website to detect the type of device punters were using and adapt accordingly. The move greatly improved the user experience, and other online bookmakers soon followed suit.
Before Bet365 came along, online bookmakers tended to follow an online version of the traditional business model used by high street bookmakers at the time. Yet always one to stand out on its own, Bet365 made its name with focus on in-play markets. So as the ability to make bets during matches, races, or other sporting events increased in popularity, so too did Bet365’s fortunes.
The company was also one of the first to introduce live broadcasts of different events for mobile and tablet users. While such products are by no means perfect, due to their reliance on 4G and internet speeds, Bet365’s early use of the technology gives it an advantage in a burgeoning market.
Bet365 in the news
eGaming Review magazine named Bet365 the number one gaming company for a record six years running from 2010 to 2015. The magazine’s Power 50 list names the most influential gaming companies each year.
In 2012, founder Denise Coates received a CBE from the Queen in the New Year Honours list. Coates received the award for “services to the community and business”. She set up the Bet365 Foundation that same year. To date the foundation has donated more than £100 million to different charities. In February 2013, the Woman’s Hour programme on BBC Radio 4 named Coates one of the 100 most powerful women in the UK.
Bet365 has also won acclaim for its contribution to the UK economy. The company employs more people than any other company in Stoke’s private sector, bringing much needed jobs to the area. Many large companies have come under fire for avoiding tax. By contrast, Bet365 was lauded for paying £20 million in corporation tax in 2012. The addition of betting duty and VAT means that the company paid a total of £130 million into the economy that year.
Offline/online presence
Whilst the Coates family did own chains of betting shops for 31 years from 1974, they sold their brick and mortar interests to Coral for £40 million in 2005. Bet365 is now one of the world’s largest online bookmakers.
Specialisms
Bet365 is known mainly for its sportsbook. In addition, to focusing on mainstream sports like football, cricket, tennis and horseracing, it also takes bets on more niche events. These include trotting (a type of horseracing) and handball.
What Bet365 offers that others don’t
Many punters agree that the Bet365 betting app is the best out there. The company also offers betting in more markets than most of its competition. The live betting and streaming, as well as the Cash Out options are beyond comparison.
If you enjoy in-play betting, then you should know that Bet365 is quite simply the best there is.
Bet365 Extra lets you personalise your betting experience. This section includes a host of living streaming services such as Match Day Live. This allows you to track several football matches at the same time via a multi-view function. You can also keep abreast of the latest bonuses, and find a wealth of historical statistics.
How to sign up
It is very easy to sign up to play on Bet365.com. Simply go to the website, click the yellow ‘Join now’ button in the top right corner, and fill in your details where indicated. To claim the current welcome bonus (if available, check bet365.com to confirm), tap the links above and follow the step-by-step instructions.
We’ve got further reading on Bet365 throughout the site: