Gambling giant bet365 has enjoyed a bumper year after seeing revenues hit almost £3 billion in the last 12 months.
The company - whose headquarters are in Stoke-on-Trent - released its latest financial accounts this week which revealed another record year for the business.
The document revealed that for the 53 weeks to March 31:
- Revenue increased to £2.98 billion from £2.71 billion
- Operating profit was up 12 per cent to £767.1 million from £682.2 million
- Customers wagered more than £64.4 billion in bets up from £52.2 billion in 2017/18
Staff numbers increased from 4,108 to 4,236 - including 319 employees at Stoke City Football Club
Bet365 is owned by The Coates family - Denise Coates, John Coates and their father Peter Coates - who also have a majority share in Stoke City Football club.
For the 12-month period, the directors received a dividend of £92.5 million - up from £90 million the previous year - cementing Ms Coates' position as the highest paid boss in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ.
Joint group chief executive Ms Coates said: "On behalf of the board I am pleased to report that the Group continued to experience significant growth during the period. Overall revenues and operating profit increased year-on-year. Amounts wagered on sports increased by 23 per cent while the number of active customers also rose by 23 per cent.
"Mobile sports continued the trend seen in previous years and delivered revenue growth of 18 per cent, consolidating its position as the most popular medium for sports betting."
Commenting on future developments at the business, Ms Coates added: "The changing worldwide gambling and leisure industries are likely to present opportunities for enhancing the group’s presence worldwide.
"The group will continue to invest in IT infrastructure and technology around the world to ensure it has both the flexibility and scalability to evolve with internal and external developments.
"The group encourages innovation in its product offerings, both by improving existing products and introducing new opportunities. Successful innovation attracts new customers and supports customer retention."
During the 12-month period, bet365 increased its charitable donations to the Denise Coates Foundation by £10 million - taking its total contribution to the charity to £85 million.
The results are in stark contrast to Stoke City Football Club's - which has seen turnover drop from £127 million to £70.5 million since relegation.
