In the United Kingdom, online gambling and sportsbetting giant Bet365 Group Limited reportedly saw its revenues from betting for the twelve months to the end of March increase by 39% year-on-year to hit £2 billion ($2.6 billion) while its operating profit swelled by some 15% to reach £503.9 million ($663.7 million).

According to a report from the Racing Post newspaper, the Staffordshire firm’s Joint Chief Executive Officer, Denise Coates, explained that the profits surge was aided by results from the 2016 UEFA European Championship as well as a fall in the value of sterling following the ‘Brexit’ referendum in June of 2016.

A family-run business based in the northern English city of Stoke-on-Trent, Bet365 Group Limited reportedly live-streamed some 140,000 sporting events during the twelve-month period and experienced a 27% boost year-on-year in the amount punters wagered on sports. It purportedly moreover saw a 35% rise in the number of active customers alongside a 72% surge in revenues generated from in-play markets.

The Racing Post reported that Bet365 Group Limited, which additionally owns Premier League soccer club Stoke City, saw mobile remain its most popular vertical following a 61% improvement year-on-year in betting revenues while staff numbers grew by some 535 to reach 3,712.

However, Bet365 Group Limited reportedly declared that this increased investment in its workforce alongside higher remuneration for managers and directors led to staff costs rising by 85% year-on-year to £585.1 million ($770.6 million). The firm also purportedly made a £50 million ($65.8 million) donation to the charity-funding Denise Coates Foundation while its Stoke City enterprise recorded an annual loss of £10.2 million ($13.4 million) compared to a profit of £8.5 million ($11.2 million) in the previous financial year.

Alongside the United Kingdom, Bet365 Group Limited reportedly holds online gambling licenses from authorities in Denmark, Australia, Spain, Bulgaria, Gibraltar, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy and Malta with Coates declaring that the firm intends to continue pursuing opportunities in regulated markets.

“Given the group’s experience in regulated markets, it believes it is well placed to benefit long-term in those countries where sensible regulation is adopted,” Coates reportedly told the Racing Post.