The Sunday Times Rich List 2026, published on 15 May, places eight gambling industry figures among Britain’s wealthiest residents. The Coates family of Bet365 leads the sector at £9.73bn. The annual ranking of the UK’s 350 wealthiest individuals and families estimates their combined wealth at £784bn, equivalent to roughly a quarter of UK GDP and up 1.4% on 2025. The full ranking is available on the official Sunday Times Rich List page.
Compiler Robert Watts said this year’s edition reflects an exodus of wealthy individuals leaving the UK following tax changes announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves. That context matters for the gambling sector specifically, which is absorbing a Budget that lifted online casino duty to 40% and sports betting duty to 25%.
Gambling figures on the Sunday Times Rich List 2026 at a glance
| Name | Rank | Wealth | Source of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coates family (Denise, John and Peter Coates) | 17th | £9.73bn | Founders and owners of Bet365; also own Stoke City FC |
| Ian and Richard Livingstone | 32nd | £5.69bn | London & Regional Properties (core wealth); stake in live casino supplier Evolution |
| Mark Scheinberg | 37th | £4.89bn | PokerStars co-founder; sold to Amaya Gaming (now Flutter’s Stars Group) for $4.9bn in 2014; investments via Mohari Hospitality |
| Fred and Peter Done | 46th | £3.61bn | Betfred founders; 1,300+ UK betting shops and US operations across 10 states |
| Michael Tabor and family | 191st | £800m | BetVictor owner; major horse racing interests |
| Ruth Parasol and family | 198th | £780m | PartyGaming founder (1997); later merged with bwin, acquired by GVC/Entain |
| Tony Bloom | 199th | £779m | Founder of Starlizard betting syndicate; owner of Brighton & Hove Albion |
| Will Roseff | 239th | £591m | Bet365 director and early investor with a reported 6.7% stake |
| Teddy Sagi (absent from 2026 list) | — (was 39th in 2025) | — (£5bn in 2025) | Playtech founder; owner of Camden Market and Kape Technologies; absence linked to UK non-dom tax changes |
Coates family lead the gambling cohort at £9.73bn
The Coates family, comprising Bet365 founder Denise, her brother and joint chief executive John, and their father Peter, slipped one place to 17th overall. They added £283m to their estimated fortune over the past year. Bet365 remains the largest private-sector employer in Stoke-on-Trent with more than 5,500 staff, and has expanded into France and Michigan over the past 18 months. Reports earlier this month indicated the operator may be exploring a sale at a valuation of around £9bn.
Bet365 director Will Roseff also features at 239th, with wealth of £591m, up £12m year-on-year. Roseff was an early investor in the operator and retains a reported 6.7% stake. He also holds horse racing interests and a position in Lloyd’s underwriting vehicle Helios.
Livingstones, Scheinberg and Done complete the upper tier
Property billionaires Ian and Richard Livingstone rank 32nd at £5.69bn. Their core wealth sits in London & Regional Properties, the family-owned real estate group with hotels, offices and residential assets across the UK and internationally. Their gambling exposure is held through a stake in live casino supplier Evolution. The brothers slipped from 28th in 2025 as Evolution shares came under pressure during a year of European regulatory tightening. Evolution reported flat full-year revenue and a 9% drop in EBITDA in its FY2025 results. Their inclusion as gambling industry figures reflects the Evolution stake rather than operational involvement in the sector.
Mark Scheinberg, the Israeli-Canadian co-founder of PokerStars, climbed one place to 37th with £4.89bn. His estimated fortune fell £192m year-on-year. Scheinberg sold PokerStars to Amaya Gaming, now part of Flutter Entertainment, for $4.9bn in 2014. He has since deployed capital through Mohari Hospitality, a luxury hotel investment vehicle, and is reported to be the wealthiest resident of the Isle of Man.
Fred and Peter Done, the Salford-based brothers behind Betfred, recorded the largest year-on-year gain of any gambling figure on the list. They rose 11 places to 46th with £3.61bn. Their wealth grew by almost £700m. Betfred operates more than 1,300 UK betting shops and is active in 10 US states.
Tabor, Parasol and Bloom anchor the lower entries
Michael Tabor and family rank 191st at £800m. Tabor’s holdings span BetVictor and substantial horse racing interests. He is one of only four owners to have won both the Epsom Derby and the Kentucky Derby.
PartyGaming founder Ruth Parasol places 198th at £780m. Parasol founded the operator in 1997. It floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2005 at a then-record $8.46bn valuation, merged with bwin in 2011, and was acquired by GVC Holdings, now Entain, in 2016.
Tony Bloom, founder of betting syndicate Starlizard and owner of Brighton & Hove Albion, ranks 199th at £779m. Starlizard is one of the largest professional betting operations globally, with quantitative models that have influenced how syndicates approach football markets.
Teddy Sagi missing from the 2026 list
Playtech founder Teddy Sagi, ranked 39th in 2025 with £5bn, does not appear in the 2026 list. The Sunday Times has flagged that this year’s edition reflects departures linked to UK non-dom tax changes. Sagi holds Israeli and Cypriot citizenship, with reported residences in London, Knightsbridge, Dubai, Cyprus and Israel. He floated his Winvia Entertainment lottery and gaming operator on London’s AIM in November 2025 at a £205m valuation, which suggests ongoing UK market activity even if his personal tax residency status has changed.
The 2026 list is shaped as much by who has left as by who has gained ground. With UK gambling duty increases phasing in from 2026 and Flutter, Entain and Evoke all flagging material profit impacts, the 2027 edition will test whether the sector’s top fortunes can continue to grow against a tougher fiscal backdrop. A confirmed Bet365 sale at the reported £9bn valuation would also reshape the Coates family ranking, depending on structure and timing.
Source: The Sunday Times
