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Coral – A Brief History

For the hardcore betting anorak who wants to know all there is to know before they join a new bookie, here we have a brief history of Coral.

UK punters will be very familiar with Coral from their presence on the high street. Coral are one of the original UK bookmakers and also one of the oldest. Whilst these days, most bettors’ only interaction with Coral is on their mobile, things were very different in the past.

Joe Coral, after whom the betting site takes its name, began taking bets almost 100 years ago. Back in 1926, when Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor (you might know her as the Queen!) was born, he started accepting off-course sports bets. This wasn’t strictly legal at the time but hey, it was a long time ago and Joe was a visionary so it’s all good.

Humble Beginnings Soon Developed Into Something Greater

Along with a business partner they also ran pitches at racecourses and speedway meetings. It wasn’t until the 1960s that things really began to take shape though. When UK law changed at this time, to make betting shops legal, Joe acted quickly and opened his first shop in 1961.

This was a big success and he opened more, also using mergers with other betting shops to grow very quickly. Throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s the business continued to grow and also expanded into other areas.

There were various changes of ownership and structure but the core of the betting business remained the same. Brewing company Bass owned the business at this time and various buyouts of other businesses in the same gambling niche saw Coral continue to grow.

Over the years the business has included various casinos, bingo halls and other leisure facilities. Over the past 10 years or so most of these have been sold, although in Europe Coral have continued to operate under the Eurobet brand.

The Online Betting Revolution

Online betting has become a larger and larger part of what Coral do and how they operate but the biggest change, aside from the growth of online betting, came in 2016. After much speculation the Competition and Markets Authority agreed to the merger of Coral and Ladbrokes.

This created the huge betting company, Ladbrokes Coral Group. In 2017, rival betting company, GVC, agreed to buy Ladbrokes Coral. GVC own a range of online betting sites, including Bwin and Foxy Bingo. At the time of writing the agreed deal is still being finalised.

One thing is certain though, with the pooling of so many resources and so much betting experience and know-how, Coral is undoubtedly a first class bookmaker. They are a brand with history, expertise and deep pockets. This means they can be trusted and also have the resources and capabilities to deliver exactly what the customer wants.