A Look at How bet365 Became the Biggest Sports Betting Site in the UK

Published 8:55 am Tuesday, March 26, 2024

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If you’re a fan of sports betting, you’ve definitely heard of bet365. In just under 25 years, what started as a small company with 12 employees has become one of the most recognized gambling brand names on the planet. Thanks to a forward-thinking vision, smart strategies, and a tiny bit of luck, bet365 was able to do this. Here’s a breakdown of how it happened. 

bet365: Overview and History 

➡️ 2000: bet365 is founded by by Denise Coates 

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➡️ 2001: The bet365 website officially launches 

➡️ 2005: Denise Coates decides to sell her family’s betting shops to Coral for around $50 million so that she can pay off the bet365 RBS loan 

➡️ 2006: Sports live streaming is added to the bet365 website

➡️ 2010: The official bet365 mobile website goes live in response to a growing demand for mobile gambling

➡️ 2012: The bet365 mobile app (iOS and Android) launches

➡️ 2013: bet365 officially reaches over 10 million worldwide customers

➡️ 2016-2022: bet365 expands operations to lots of new countries, including Estonia, Sweden, Canada, and the US

➡️ 2023: The bet365 expansion throughout the US continues, with Ohio and Virginia being added to the list of new bet365 states 

➡️ 2024: bet365 reaches over 80 million worldwide users, making it one of the biggest (and most successful) sports betting brands on the planet 

Since 2000, bet365 has gone from strength to strength under the leadership of Denise Coates and the Coates family. In a highly competitive industry, where hundreds of other sports betting brands operate, bet365 has been able to reach the top (and maintain its position) through several key factors, with one of the main factors being that it was one of the first companies to get ahead of the curve when it came to online gambling. 

During the early 2000s, in-person betting shops were still the “big thing”, so for Denise Coates to have the vision to jump on the online betting train was nothing short of genius. In the following decades, online gambling exploded in popularity and is now a $107 billion industry (Statista). bet365 has reaped the benefits of this. 

Additionally, bet365 has become an industry leader by offering sports live streaming, competitive odds, an excellent user interface, coverage of all major sporting events, and safe responsible gambling resources. Not to mention, the launch of the bet365 Casino has helped take the brand to new heights, as bet365 members can now also enjoy casino games in addition to sports betting. The success of the bet365 Casino has been so influential that it’s led to countless other online casinos and sweepstakes casinos hitting the market, which you can see through this sweepstakes casino list. What makes the bet365 casino especially popular is that it offers live dealer games, which (again) is an example of bet365 predicting the future and staying ahead of the curve. 

Who Are bet365’s Competitors?

Every year, bet365 faces intense competition from other sportsbooks in both the UK and other countries. Examples of these sportsbooks are Betfred, William Hill, DraftKings, and FanDuel. However, bet365 currently has around 10% market share in the UK, so it remains in a strong position. 

Which Countries is bet365 Available? 

As highlighted earlier, bet365 has gradually expanded to other countries outside of the UK over the past couple of decades. Now, the bet365 website and app are available in a whole range of countries, including the US, Spain, Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, New Zealand, and plenty of others. Because its international expansion has (so far) been incredibly successful, you can expect bet365 to continue being the biggest sports betting names around the world, with its number of customers expected to continue growing in response to the rising popularity of online gambling.