UK’s best-paid boss, co-founder of online gambling firm Bet365 Denise Coates, has received another bumper pay rise.
The firm’s accounts show compensation, for the firm’s “highest paid director” rising to £265m including dividends.
That was £48m higher than the total she received last year as the popularity of online gambling continues to grow.
However the industry is facing mounting criticism for not doing enough to deal with problem gambling and addiction.
The privately held company is owned jointly by Ms Coates and members of her direct family, including her brother John who is joint chief executive and her father Peter, the firm’s chairman. Last year Ms Coates’ pay and dividends were reported to total £217m.
In the year to the end of March her basic pay rose from £199m to £220m. The firm paid out £90m in dividends in the same year, half of which are thought to have gone to Ms Coates, as the owner of half of Bet365’s shares.