John Fitzgerald Coates (born January 1970), is an English billionaire businessman and the joint chief executive (CEO) of online gambling company

bet365 Bet365 Group Ltd (commonly known and stylized as bet365 and spoken as "bet three-six-five") is a leading British online gambling company based in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Denise Coates, who remains the majority shareholder and joint ...

and joint-chairman of

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

Early life

John Fitzgerald Coates was born in January 1970, the son of

Peter Coates Peter Coates (born 13 January 1938) is an English businessman, the co-founder of bet365, and the chairman of Stoke City Football Club. He has been listed as the 25th-richest person in British football. He founded Stadia Catering in the 1960s an ...

, chairman of

Stoke City F.C. Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

and director of Bet365. He attended

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

where he studied Law.

Business career

Coates started his career as a lawyer. In 2001, after selling some of their father's betting shops to large bookmaker

Coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

, his sister convinced him to join her in launching bet365.

Bet365

John and his sister

Denise Coates Denise Coates (born 26 September 1967) is a British billionaire businesswoman, the founder, majority shareholder and joint chief executive of online gambling company Bet365. In October 2019, ''Forbes'' magazine estimated Coates's net worth at ...

are co-CEOs of UK-based bet365, an online gambling company, of which he owns a quarter.

Bet365 Foundation

John helped Denise set-up the Bet365 Foundation in August 2012 and it has donated £100 million to 20 UK charities to help support projects home and abroad. Charities which have received funds include

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

CAFOD The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) is an international development charity and the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It aims to tackle poverty globally. Through local Catholic Church and secular pa ...

, the Douglas Macmillan Hospice for cancer sufferers in Stoke, and relief programmes for victims caught in the aftermath of

Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. University scholarships and theatre donations have also been offered.

Stoke City

In July 2015 Coates was appointed as vice-chairman at

where his father is chairman. In September 2020, Coates was appointed as joint-chairman alongside his father.

Personal life

He is married, with two children, and lives in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coates, John 1970 births Living people English chief executives Bookmakers People from Stoke-on-Trent British billionaires Stoke City F.C. directors and chairmen

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

Alumni of the University of Bristol