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Stoke City Football Club has announced that the Championship side is now owned outright by bet365 Co-CEO John Coates.
This follows changes that have been made to the Potters’ ownership model, with a demerger of the club being implemented by bet365, which now means that the club is now owned outright by John Coates.
The reason behind the changes has been put down to licensing reasons, with it being seen as a means for bet365 to continue its global expansion as the Coates family look to continuing supporting the Potters in the long term.
As a result of this deal, the debts of the club have been cleared, with the Clayton Wood training ground and bet365 Stadium now owned directly by Stoke City Football Club.
John Coates, Richard Smith and Peter Coates will continue to make up the Club’s Board of Directors.
John Coates said: “My family and I remain steadfast in our commitment to Stoke City, so it’s very much business as usual.
“Infrastructure projects at the stadium and our training facility will continue during the coming years at pace, and Potters’ supporters can rest assured that investment in the playing squad will continue to be maximised within our competition rules.
“Everything we do is geared towards bringing long-term success to Stoke City and representing our fanbase and local community in a way that makes people proud.”
In other company news, Inspired Entertainment has expanded its partnership with bet365, which will see bet365 offering Inspired’s portfolio of online games to players in Pennsylvania.
