At a time when high-earning industry chiefs are under the spotlight, chief executive of bet365 Denise Coates has made a significant move to aid the NHS in the UK. It’s been confirmed that the billionaire businesswoman has donated £10m to an NHS trust which covers essential services in Stoke-on-Trent.
Stoke is Coates’ home town and the headquarters of the online casino and sportsbook is based here. The funds will go directly towards University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) which covers the city.
Money received from the Coates Foundation will be used in three ways: Technology will be improved that will enhance communication between clinicians, patients and their families. Secondly, funds will improve the trust’s cancer centre while mental health and social care, which is under pressure from the effects of Covid-19, will also benefit.
Chief Executive of the UHNM Tracey Bullock said that the funds would make a huge difference to the people of North Staffordshire and the surrounding area and they were extremely grateful to the Coates Foundation. Speaking on behalf of her own charity foundation, Denise Coates said that they had to step forward to see what they could do to help.
While these may be uncertain times for the casino industry, bet365 continue to make positive headlines. Back in March 2020, the company announced that they had taken up a five-year lease on Manchester City Centre offices. This news followed on from bet365’s initial move into Manchester when a tech support centre was set up in the Spring Gardens area in 2018.
Having been founded in 2000, bet365 were one of the earliest digital operators and have since become one of the most significant players in the online casino industry. The sportsbook continues to operate as much as it can during the Covid-19 crisis while the Bet365 casino will become more of a focal point for its customers.
It’s important for industry leaders to react positively to the current situation. The move from the Coates Foundation will be a welcome boost for the NHS in the Stoke area while news surrounding bet365 as a whole remains buoyant in these tricky times.