- To achieve this, we carefully examine every casino operator we Richest Gambling Company look at and use geotargeting to customise our recommendations to you. That way, you can rest assured that the top 10 casino sites in your country are just Richest Gambling Company a click away. Top Casino Sites for 2020.
- The country is also home to Europe's biggest gambling company, OPAP, which has a market cap of about 4.1 billion euros. Its privatization, to be finalized by 2012, could help the government pay.
The richest one is a very successful entrepreneur called Sheldon Anderson. His total net worth is more than 30,4 billion dollars! The 75-year old billionaire has made his fortune with Las Vegas Sands Corporation. Thanks to this company thousands of people every day the impressive The Venetian casino.
While it’s true that numerous gamblers have won big amounts of money from participating in betting, what about the operators and their respective owners? Well, there are multiple people around the world who have significantly benefitted from having people play at sites and within establishments that they are linked with. Afterall the bookie always wins right? So as you might expect the biggest fortunes made from gambling are for those that take the bets rather than place them.
Who exactly has made a fortune from the gambling world as a non-player in the scene? Let’s take a look and find out all about them and exactly what they did to amass such a wealth of money.
Victor Chandler
As former chairman of the BetVictor brand, which also goes by the name of Victor Chandler International, this British businessman is often credited as being the first bookmaker to recognise just how important online gambling was. Not only that, but he became the very first person to move his gaming business to an offshore location.
It was in the early 1990s that Victor began to accept bets on football events from clients based in the far east. Through this, he recognised that there was a large potential for growth via foreign markets, and it was this that led to him opening up his office in Antigua. This enabled those foreign clients to place bets without the necessity of paying UK tax at the same time.
Anyone based within the UK was required to pay a 9% betting tax, although in 1996, Chandler proceeded with acquiring a gambling licence from Gibraltar, and it was in 1999 that he moved his entire business to the island. This enabled the brand to grow at a rapid rate, and today he employs more than 400 people, operating as the largest private employer in Gibraltar.
It's not only the fact that Chandler has his own betting company, but that he has also owned many racehorses over the past 30 years, too. Based all around the world in locations like the UK, USA and South Africa, Chandler saw some success with these horses and formed a syndicate known as “Men in Our Position”. This owned the 2009 Cheltenham Triumph Hurdle winner Zaynar, and that horse went on to demolish a top-class field by winning the Coral Ascot Hurdle in November of the same year.
In 2009, Victor was listed as being the 362nd richest person in the world, with a fortune of £150 million. It was in the same year that Chandler accepted the proposition of being the main sponsor of Nottingham Forest football club, and this was reported to have been a six-figure deal. As part of that, he offered to pay for the following year’s season tickets for Forest fans who opened an online account at BetVictor, and if Forest won the league. Nottingham came through strong, and it would potentially have cost Chandler around £6 million if they ended up winning. However, they only qualified for the play-offs instead, where they would be eliminated by Blackpool in the semi-finals.
The Coates Family (Denise Coates)
The likelihood is that if you’re a sports bettor, then you’ll have heard of the Bet365 brand. Well, this company is all down to the Coates family – Peter, his son John and daughter Denise. Founded in a portacabin based in Stoke in 2000, this occurred one year after Peter became the majority shareholder of Stoke City football club. He remains active as the club’s chairman today at 74-years-old. Meanwhile, daughter Denise developed the sports betting platform everyone knows of today, launching it and the business by March of 2001.
While all members of the family could be considered to have done exceptionally well out of the gambling industry, Denise was estimated to be worth $12.2 billion (£9.8 billion) by Forbes magazine in 2019. This makes her the highest paid chief executive of any UK company and, at the same time, one of Britain’s wealthiest women.
It was in 2015 that Bet365 relocated its headquarters to Gibraltar due to the lack of taxation imposed there. Both Denise and her brother John remain in active control of the brand, with the former being the majority shareholder, holding 50.01% of Bet365.
Denise was criticised heavily in 2017 when she payed herself £217 million. That stood out as being 22 times more than the whole industry donates towards treatment of gambling addicts. By 2018, her salary had increased to £265 million, and that stands as 9,500x more than the average UK salary. As well as earning herself some hefty shares of money though, Denise set up her own foundation in 2012.
The Denise Coates Foundation is a registered charity in England, and as of 2014, it had donated £100 million to 20 different UK charities. These include Oxfam, CAFOD and the Douglas Macmillan Hospice for cancer sufferers in Stoke. In more recent times, £10 million was donated in April 2020 to the University of North Midlands in a bid to support staff fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
Peter Coates, on the other hand, has experienced his own sort of controversy, opting to donate £50,000 to the Labour party in July of 2004. This occurred during the time that the then Labour government was in the middle of revising gambling legislation in the UK. A further $100,000 donation was handed over in December 2005, while a further $150,000 was presented in 2007.
Teddy Sagi
Cypriot-Israeli businessman Teddy Sagi became a billionaire as the founder of the Playtech company. Partially based in London, Sagi also now owns London’s popular Camden Market and has a personal wealth of $3.6 billion (£2.9 billion).
Playtech was founded by Sagi in 1999 and by 2006 it was floated on the London Stock Exchange at a price that valued it at around £550 million. Sagi himself has since scaled down his holdings to just 4.6% from its original 81% and has since gone on to invest in real estate and hi-tech companies instead. Of those hi-tech companies, he became a majority shareholder in SafeCharge, which operates as a credit card clearing company for the online gambling industry.
Sagi is today listed at the 6th richest Israeli, and he was ranked as number 546th of Forbes richest in the world in 2019. That’s quite the achievement for someone who is known as a former convicted felon (he served a nine-month stint in Israel in 1996 after being convicted of bribery and fraud).
Playtech, as many online gamers will know, is one of the very biggest software companies in the world. It provides many popular online casinos, poker rooms, sportsbooks, bingo sites and more with the software necessary to run their operations.
Calvin Ayre
Canadian-Antiguan entrepreneur Calvin Ayre is the founder of the Ayre Group and Bodog entertainment brand. He’s actually considered to be quite the rebel within the gambling industry, though. Now aged 59, Ayre launched his online gambling company known as Bodog in 2000, and it was due to the success of this that he became the billionaire that he is today. Online gambling’s own popularity surged within the mid-2000s, and he went on to become the Forbes magazine annual billionaires cover star in 2006.
As it happens, Ayre took his inspiration from another billionaire – Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group. He now possesses offices in London, Malaga and South-East Asia.
However, it’s not all been plain sailing for the billionaire, as it was in 2012 that Ayre was indicted by the US Attorney for Maryland for charges of illegal gambling and money laundering. Even though the Antiguan government’s view on things was in favour of Ayre, in 2017, he pled guilty to a single misdemeanour charge, and this led to all other charges raised against him being dropped.
Ayre’s net worth is estimated to be around $1.2 billion (£960 million), and the vast majority of this is accredited to his online gambling successes where Bodog is concerned. However, Ayre has also been closely connected with the cryptocurrency world, which has its own links to the gambling world. In 2017, he became a Bitcoin Cash supporter and by July of 2018, his own crypto mining operations known as Coingeek, became the world’s largest miner of Bitcoin Cash.
Throughout the years, Ayre has donated money to charities and other causes. The LA Lakers Youth Foundation for example, is one recipient of donations from Ayre and Bodog. In 2005, he formalised his charitable efforts under the Calvin Ayre Foundation name. The foundation has supported needy families, elementary schools and physical rehabilitation centres in Costa Rica. In 2010, the foundation matched funds raised by online gambling for relief efforts relating to the devastating earthquake that occurred in Haiti.
Avi and Aaron Shaked
Avi and Aaron Shaked may not specifically be known to the everyday person, but within the gambling industry, they’re huge. Two of the most powerful people within the UK sector, the Shaked brothers teamed up with Shay and Ron Ben-Yitzhak (also brothers) to establish Virtual Holdings Limited in 1997. This would later become the popular brand known as 888 Holdings today.
The first website that was set up under the original Virtual Holdings name was Casino-on-Net, also launched in 1997, with its administrative centre based in Antigua. Reef Club Casino and Pacific Poker would follow in 2002, before the administrative centre of the company moved to the island of Gibraltar. By 2005, Virtual Holdings Limited was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and it was also at this point that the Shaked brothers opted to sell £95 million worth of their shares held in the company.
888 Holdings also operated the Pacific Poker brand in the United States until 2006 when online gambling became illegal there. Of course, by this time, Avi and Aaron had sold a large part of their shares on, although this didn’t give them any less power than partners the Ben-Yitzhaks. Unfortunately, Shai Ben-Yitzhak died in an ultralight plane crash near Yakum, Israel at age 52 in May 2020, while his 11-year-old son suffered minor injuries in the same crash.
Of course, 888 Holdings is known for opening its 888casino, 888poker and 888sport platforms, which remain in existence today as three of the biggest online gambling sites around.
Avi Shaked has also had a long political career in his home country, although his two attempts at running for the Israeli parliament were unsuccessful. He even tried with the slogan of “a socialist and millionaire”, although that didn’t seem to cut it with the political bigwigs. Unfortunately, Aaron passed away in 2010, and to be able to fund the company, Avi had to mortgage their homes. Today though, the families of both Shaked brothers and those of the Ben-Yitzhaks retain the majority control of 888 Holdings.
Avi remains the owner of about 50% of 888 Holdings, while Roy Ben-Yitzhak possesses around 11%. The company refused a takeover bid of £700 million pounds in 2014, and in doing so, the remaining brothers stayed in control of their respective wealths.
Sheldon Adelson
Las Vegas Sands founder Sheldon Adelson has been at the top of the gambling industry for a long time, and as of 2019, he was estimated to have amassed a fortune of $35.1 billion (£28.1 billion). He’s the 24th richest person in the world at the moment, and the very richest within the gambling sector. In fact, he outranks the second wealthiest in Hong Kong’s Lui Che Woo by more than $20 billion.
Adelson was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1933, and he was part of a low-income family, with his father being a taxi driver and his mother running a knitting shop. He started his business career at the tender age of 12, borrowing $200 from his uncle to purchase a licence in order to sell newspapers in Boston. Four years later, he borrowed $10,000 from the same uncle to begin his own candy-vending-machine business. While he soon became a millionaire in the 1960s, he built and lost his fortune twice over.
It was in the late 80s that Adelson and his partners purchased the Sands Hotel and Casino based in Las Vegas. Known as the former hangout of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, it was only a few years later that Adelson razed the entirety of the Sands and spent $1.5 billion on constructing The Venetian – a hotel and casino with the theme of Venice behind it. This was the start of his foray into the gambling sector, and in the late 2000s, Adelson proceeded with building another casino resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Adelson would also go ahead and bring the Sands name to Macau in China, and this ensured that the one-million-square-foot Sands Macao establishment became the first Las Vegas-style casino in China when it opened in 2004. He recovered his initial investment of $265 million in one year, and because he owns 69% of the stock, he also increased his wealth when he took that public in December of 2004. Since that time, his personal wealth has multiplied more than 14 times over. Additional casinos have been opened in Macau since then, while Las Vegas Sands also acquired a licence for a casino to be opened in Singapore.
He has donated over $25 million to the Adelson Educational Campus in Las Vegas in order to build a high school, while another $25 million was donated in 2006 to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority. Since 2007, the Adelson Family Foundation has contributed over $140 million to Birthright Israel, financing Jewish youth trips to Israel. Additionally, Adelson has funded the Boston-based Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation with $7.5 million – a private foundation which initiated the Adelson Program in Neural Repair and Rehabilitation (APNRR).
Due to his amassed wealth, Adelson has found himself on the cover of Forbes magazine numerous times when it comes to the world’s richest people.
© Provided by Tuko 10 richest gaming companies 2020Video games are a leading source of entertainment today. The entire industry is booming rapidly and becoming even more profitable. Although there are many players involved, only a few game studios have managed to take a leading role in both the popularity of their games and the tremendous amounts of money they have made. These companies generate income mostly from subscriptions and sales of their products. Some of the richest gaming companies worldwide post millions of dollars in profits annually.
Part of being a top gaming company also means making a mark on the entire industry and setting a pace for others to follow. Most of these companies have changed gaming as consumers know it and even made it impossible for many more to join. If you are a new video game studio, you have no choice but to develop something outstanding to compete with the already established giants. But what are some of these richest gaming companies?
Which is the richest video game company 2020?
While there are individual games that have sold millions of units, very few companies can boast of moving millions of games every year. Despite being in an industry where consumer demands shift rapidly, and technology upgrades demand even more improvements in game development, these companies continue to set trends and in turn, generate huge revenues. This is the richest gaming companies list based on their total assets.
1. Microsoft - $285.4 Billion
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Source: UGC
Microsoft Corporation is a technology company that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells consumer electronics, software programmes, and personal computers. It is one of the world’s largest software makers by revenue. Microsoft develops and publishes video games through its gaming division, Xbox Game Studios.
Some of the video games developed by the studio include:
- Minecraft
- Cobalt
- Crimson Dragon
Apart from video games, the Xbox Game Studio has expanded its product line to now include interactive entertainment for Xbox platforms and Windows Mobile. As a corporation, Microsoft is among the richest gaming companies 2020 by assets. It has total assets of $285.4 billion. The Xbox Gaming Revenue in 2018 exceeded $10 billion as a result of having 57 million monthly users.
2. Sony - $208.3 Billion
Sony Corporation is the owner of the biggest video game console in the world, PlayStation. It is also the publisher of top video games that have enjoyed worldwide success among gamers. Sony develops and publishes video games through the Sony Interactive Entertainment Group.
The SIE Group has been developing gaming consoles, accessories, and providing services to gamers. Some of the video games developed and published by the company include:
- NBA ShootOut
- Bloodborne
- The Last of Us
Sony Interactive Entertainment also develops, researches, and sells PlayStation hardware, content, software, and network services. As a corporation, Sony is among the richest famous gaming companies in the world. It has total assets valued at $208.3 billion. The PlayStation Network has 41.5 million subscribers as of March 31, 2020.
3. Activision Blizzard - $19.8 Billion
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Richest Gaming Company
Source: Getty Images
Activision Blizzard is a video game holding company founded in 2008. It owns and operates many studios and develops some of the best computer games and simulations for gamers. Through the Blizzard Entertainment division, the company has produced top mobile games such as Candy Crush Saga and many other entertaining video games.
Some of its top entertaining video games of all time include:
- Call of Duty
- World of Warcraft
- Diablo
The company has produced many more titles that have broken records and became part of every gamer’s list. Its interactive software products and entertainment content are available on most gaming consoles. It also has many games developed for the mobile platform. Activision Blizzard has total assets worth $19.8 billion. In early 2018, it became the largest gaming company in terms of market capitalisation and revenue.
4. Nintendo - $17.5 Billion
Nintendo is a video game and consumer electronics company founded in 1889. Through its Nintendo Entertainment Planning and Development Division, the company develops and produces video games, mobile applications, and entertainment software for the gaming industry. It also develops consoles, such as Game Boy, which have been successful among gamers.
Some of the games and franchises developed by Nintendo include:
- Pokemon
- Mario
- Diablo
Nintendo is one of the richest gaming companies in the world. It has total assets of $17.5 billion. Most of its revenues come from engaging in the development, manufacture, and sale of entertainment products.
The company has many console game machines and software available on all gaming platforms. Unlike many companies, Nintendo has a rich legacy in the industry because it has produced some of the most entertaining computer games ever.
5. Electronic Arts - $11.2 Billion
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Richest Gaming Company In The World
Source: UGC
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is one of the largest gaming companies in the world. Since 1983, it has produced some of the most entertaining and addictive video games known to man. The company engages in providing digital interactive entrainment and develops and delivers video games across various platforms, including PCs, mobile devices, and internet-connected consoles.
Some of the best video games it has produced over the years include:
- Battlefield 3
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted
- FIFA Video Game Series
EA has been developing and publishing video games and services across all genres. Some of these include sports, first-person shooters, simulation, and role-playing. It also licenses its games and provides advertising services. Electronic Arts is one of the wealthiest gaming companies in the world with total assets of $11.2 billion as of 12 May 2020.
6. Bandai Namco - $5.9 Billion
Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. is a video game developer and publisher formed in 2006. The company produces several video game franchises and is one of the largest computer game publishers in Japan. In addition to being a developer, it owns the licenses of several media franchises, including Naruto. Some of the games it has been developing and publishing over the years include:
- Dragon Ball
- Pac-Man
- Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker
All games developed by the company are available on various platforms, including PlayStation, Xbox, iOS, and Android, among others. Gamers can purchase its video games from its stores or platforms authorised by the company. As of 2020, the company’s total assets are worth $5.9 billion.
7. SEGA - $4.42 Billion
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Source: Getty Images
SEGA Corporation is a video game developer and publisher known for producing prolific arcade video games. It also develops gaming consoles and handled devices for the home consumer. Through the SEGA Development Studios, the company has developed over 500 games and 70 franchises since 1981.
Some of the video games developed and published by the company include:
- Football Manager
- Total War
- Sonic the Hedgehog
SEGA develops top video games and hardware through top studios that include Sports Interactive, The Creative Assembly, Relic Entertainment, and Amplitude Studios. SEGA is part of the Sega Sammy Holdings after merging with the Sammy Corporation in 2004. The corporation has total assets of $4.42 billion as of 2020, with a majority of its revenue coming from the arcade and video games.
8. Konami - $3.663 Billion
Konami Holdings Corporation is one of the largest gambling and entertainment conglomerates in the world. Through its subsidiaries, the company produces and markets gaming software for various video game platforms and systems. In recent times, it has ventured into making esports computers and has a facility and a school for holding esports events and players respectively.
Konami has developed many video games over the years, including:
- Pro Evolution Soccer
- Metal Gear Solid
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Most of the games produced by the company encompass various genres, including sports, RPG, and shooter, among others. Konami has total assets worth $3.663 billion as of 30 June 2019. Although the company is in the video game industry, it also operates fitness and health club facilities.
9. Ubisoft - $3.605 Billion
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Source: Getty Images
Ubisoft Entertainment SA is a video game company that publishes games for various franchises. Founded in 1986, the company creates and distributes interactive services and entertainment. It is behind the blockbuster video game, Assassin’s Creed released in 2007 and available as a franchise across gaming platforms. Other games published by the company over the years include:
- Rayman Legends
- Far Cry 3
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
Ubisoft has a reputation for creating original and memorable video games. Most of its games are among the top-rated in the industry. As one of the richest gaming companies in the world, it has total assets of $3.605 billion as of 2020. The company does not only sell video games but also offers subscription services.
10. Square Enix - $2.875 Billion
Square Enix Inc. is a developer, publisher, and distributor of video games. It is best known for making role-playing and fantasy games that have broken worldwide records within the gaming industry. The company has an outstanding portfolio, including creating Final Fantasy which sold over 100 million units worldwide. Other games developed by Square Enix include:
- Dragon Quest
- Super Mario RPG
- Fortune Street
Square Enix is a company dedicated to providing the finest in entertainment to all players. From adventure to fantasy and action, it has video games of all genres available on platforms such as Android, iOS, PlayStation, Xbox, and more. As one of the wealthiest gaming companies in the world, it boasts of total assets worth $2.875 billion as of 2020.
A majority of the richest gaming companies are multinational corporations that have developed and published record-breaking video games. Others have also made a lot of money from selling gaming hardware and utilising the games as a service model. But one thing some of these companies on this list have in common is that they have listings on the stock exchanges in different countries.
Tuko.co.ke recently created a comprehensive biography of one of the most popular female gamers, Pokimane. The Canadian streamer, who is of Moroccan descent, has been a subject to curious viewers who want to know her ethnicity.
Pokimane pointed out that the question about her ethnicity and nationality had been bugging her for quite some time and that’s why she decided to take a DNA test and film the whole experience. Even after confirming her ethnicity, the gamer has continued attracting millions of viewers to her channel where she plays games like Fortnite and League of Legends.