ByRebecca Marston
Business press reporter, BBC News

Denise Coates, the billionaire boss of Bet365, added another ₤ 323m to her wealth today after the company her family established racked up another year of big earnings.

She's been called the UK's most effective lady, with a fortune that Forbes publication puts in the yohaig code region of ₤ 9.3 bn.

Most noticeably, she has actually made that largely herself.

Bet365 is Stoke-on-Trent's largest economic sector employer, with more than 4,600 personnel. It offers its countless around the world clients sports betting, poker, casino, video games and bingo. The firm had a ₤ 3bn turnover in the year to the end of March and an earnings before tax of ₤ 791m.

Ms Coates' sibling John is joint chief executive and her father Peter is the firm's chairman, but Denise Coates owns half the business and there's no doubt the success is mainly hers.

LISTEN: Profile: Denise Coates

Bet365 employer sees pay increase to ₤ 265m

Serious bettors tend to have a "system", a supposedly sure-fire technique that will continue bringing benefits. So what's her "system"?

Go back to the 1990s and there aren't lots of who would have bet on the small family-run chain of regional betting shops growing to such a size.

A lot is down to her mathematical talent, which was exceptional from an early age. David Owen taught her at secondary school in the 1980s.

"She got everything right, just asked relevant concerns and was angelically behaved. She was clearly off the scale. If we were talking Mensa, she 'd be in the top 1%," he informed the BBC.

'More ladies'

She accomplished a top-notch degree in econometrics and trained as an accounting professional within the household company, developing even more on the understanding of the little chain that she picked up while working part-time during high school.

Along with an extremely keen eye for figures - the heart of any successful bookie - she is likewise a moderniser.

One of her associates, Debbie Tatton, told the BBC: "When Denise came, she desired a better relationship in between the staff and the customers. We ended up being a lot more expert, a lot more customer-focused. A lot of more youthful individuals started can be found in, along with a lot more ladies."

In 2000, Ms Coates upped the stakes and convinced the household to mortgage the company to permit them to develop brand-new software application.

Her sibling states she became fixated on the potential for online gaming and became a leader because company.

Establishing head office in a temporary structure in a vehicle park, Ms Coates called it the ultimate gamble, buying the domain name Bet365.com so that she could drive the company because direction.

'Innate understanding'

"She's extremely intelligent and really identified," says Warwick Bartlett, from international wagering and gaming consultants GBGC.

"She is also capable of taking a look at the big photo. Betfair was the innovator in in-play wagering, however she was basically the very first to harness mobile innovation, recognising that bettors anywhere would have the ability to wager on sporting events."

A substantial 70% of income now comes through banking on tablets and phones.

She is helped, Mr Bartlett says, by the truth that she, distinctively, truly understands the industry. "The Coates household are third-generation bookies. They have discovered the company from parents and grandparents.

"She has an inherent understanding of what the bettor is looking for. A lot of the companies nowadays have supervisors that might have originated from [other sectors] They are expert supervisors who try to use their knowledge got from offering beans or margarines."

Ad controversy

Mr Bartlett says close knowledge of another business has actually assisted with the in-play football earnings: Bet365 owns regional club Stoke City.

"Owning a football club provided them an insight into the method the Premier League worked. Stoke City, not so successful itself, has actually played teams that actually are," he says.

"On top of the contact with the experts they gain from protection through the sponsorship of the group. Bet365 has terrific exposure whenever Stoke are featured."

Ms Coates' father is chairman of Stoke and has a greater public profile than she does.

But the name best connected with Bet365 is, of course, Ray Winstone, whose gravelly tones used to urge punters to "wager in play - NOW!" before the advertisements were pulled.

Again, Warwick Bartlett says, Ms Coates got it right. "Using Ray confirms my point about 365, they understand their customers. He's a middle-aged guy and a little a geezer.

"Cleverly, Bet365 usage similar types to appeal to their consumers in other markets. In Australia, it's Samuel L Jackson - he discovers in the advert as a very cool guy."

Bet365 continues to keep one step ahead. It's moving into the US as the marketplace there opens.

But while Denise Coates' organization brain believes global, she herself is likely to remain rooted in Stoke.

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