The Times: Bet365 Is Second Biggest Taxpayer in the UK

The report was compiled by The Times and unveils that Coates, who held the top place for the biggest taxpayer in the UK for three years in a row, came in second within the 2023 list. The first place on the 2023 biggest taxpayers’ list was filled by Alex Gerko, a billionaire born in Moscow who recently renounced his Russian citizenship. Gerko’s tax bill was £487.4 million ($603.1 million), positioning him as Britain’s biggest taxpayer in 2023.

On the other hand, Coates’ tax bill, according to the list is £460.2 million ($569.5 million) for 2022, positioning her as the second-biggest taxpayer in 2023. When compared to the £480 million ($539.9 million) paid by the Bet365 owner for the same period last year, a slight decrease is observed. Only recently, the company reported an increase in revenue combined with a nearly 95% decrease in profit. It is likely that those results ultimately impacted the 2022 tax result as well.

A few places behind Coates, the list positioned the owners of the leading online bookmaker Betfred, Fred and Peter Done. Their tax bill for 2022 was £136.8 million ($169.3 million), positioning them as the fifth-biggest taxpayer in 2023 according to the list.

Gambling Industry Contributes with Billions in Taxes

Focusing on the bigger picture, although Coates hit second place this year, she still remains the biggest taxpayer between 2019 and 2023. In fact, the list reveals that for that period, Coates contributed a staggering £1.95 billion ($2.4 billion) in taxes.

Within the same vertical between 2019 and 2023, Gerko paid £679.8 million ($841.2 million) in taxes, making him the third-biggest taxpayer for the period. Betfred’s Fred and Peter Done, on the other hand, contributed £542.4 million ($671.2 million) in taxes for the same period, making them the fifth-biggest taxpayer within this specific period.

The latest list revealed that the top taxpayers within the British gambling sector contributed £629.9 million ($779.4 million) as of January 2023. When compared to the result from January 2022, which was £651.5 million ($806.1 million), a slight decrease was observed. Still, the two results are way behind if compared to the £764.3 million ($945.5 million) paid in taxes paid for 2021.