The Sunday Times has published its annual Rich List report for 2026, with the Coates family - owners of bet365 - still in a strong position.
Every year the publication releases a list of 350 of the UK's wealthiest people. Often, it is dominated by those in the financial sector but it also includes a scatter of gambling entrepreneurs and industry figures too.
The Coates family, owners and founders of bet365, have seen their position remain roughly stable. Meanwhile, Lord Grantchester and Mark Scheinberg, associated with the Pools and Flutter's PokerStars, respectively, have seen their positions drop.
This year, the list is made up of those with a wealth of £340M or more, down slightly from last year's £350M cutoff. The list members have a combined fortune of £784B, which works out as roughly 22% of the UK's national GDP.
Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja (Hinduja Group) top the list with a £38B fortune, amassed from investments in multiple sectors such as real estate and financial services, but the Coates family remains the highest-ranked name from the gambling industry.
The bet(365) effect
The bet365 family, headed by the country's wealthiest woman, Denise Coates, saw their fortune rise £283M year-on-year (y-o-y) to £9.73B, although, despite this, they dropped one place in the ranking, down from 16th to 17th.
Contributing to their fortune increasing is this company's expansion into the North American, and other global, markets.
The family - consisting of Denise, John and Peter Coates - also owns Stoke City Football Club and the charitable Denise Coates Foundation.
Such has been bet365's success that company director Will Roseff also features on the list of the country's wealthiest people. Estimates suggest the early investor holds around 7% of the company's shares.
Roseff also owns racehorses and previously operated as director for British Greyhound Racing Fund Ltd and Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Services Ltd. His £591M fortune represents a £12M increase and is enough to put Roseff in 239th place.
Other gambling figures in ST's Richest 2026
The previously mentioned Scheinberg saw his wealth drop slightly to £4.89B, however his position rose to 37th - due to other rivals falling in wealth y-o-y.
Although Scheinberg no longer has an interest in the gambling industry, he made the majority of his fortune from selling PokerStars for $4.9B in 2014. Since then, he has concentrated his business interests in luxury real estate.
Betfred brothers Fred and Peter Done's wealth grew by an impressive £700M – their £3.61B fortune saw them rise 11 places to 46th in the list. The pair established Betfred in 1967, using winnings accumulated from betting on the 1966 World Cup.
Fred Done recently announced he was moving his property group to Jersey, a move that could potentially save him tens of millions of pounds in inheritance tax ahead of UK budget changes.
Lord Grantchester, grandson of The Pools founder John Moores, saw his balance remain roughly stable at £1.2B. He is ranked 139th on the list, down eight positions.
US businesswoman Ruth Parasol saw her £780M total increase her ranking to 198th place. The Californian founded PartyGaming in 1997. The Party Poker empire floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2005. Valued at £4.64B, it was one of the biggest flotations on the London market at the time.
The company merged with bwin in 2011, and the newly merged company was acquired in 2016 by GVC Holdings, which rebranded to Entain in 2020.
