Meet the women who are shaking up the male-dominated gambling industry
In an industry dominated by men, the deck is often stacked against women. Gender inequality has always been exemplified by the gaming business.
Gaining success in the realm of casinos, chips, bets, and bluffs is still difficult, despite the presence of accomplished women in traditionally male-dominated fields like banking and medicine. When you consider all the additional difficulties women in industries with a high male workforce face, the situation just becomes worse.
Let’s now look at the women who are shaping the gambling industry by breaking barriers and ruling in a world dominated by men.
Amy Howe – CEO of FanDuel
- A partner at McKinsey & Company
- CSO and later COO of Live Nation
- Featured in the “50 Most Powerful Executives in the Industry” list
- CEO of FanDuel
Amy Howe is first and foremost an entrepreneur. She was raised in NY and received a degree in business, marketing, management, and related support services from Cornell University. Her studies of those aspects of business paid off, as she went on to get an MBA and become an analyst at Accenture.
The next step on the career ladder was to become a partner at McKinsey & Company, after which Howe was appointed CSO at Live Nation. Her career at Ticketmaster led to her being promoted to COO and being included on Billboard’s Women in Music 2015: 50 Most Powerful Executives in the Industry list. Howe found herself on the list more than once before she became the head of FanDuel’s sportsbook and casino in 2021.
Karen Worman – Senior Executive of Caesars AC
- 10 years of experience working for Caesars AC
- VP of Finance for Tropicana, Caesars, and Harrah’s Resort AC
- Senior Executive of Caesars Atlantic City
This is one of the latest appointments in the industry. After over 10 years of experience working for Caesars Entertainment’s regional operations in AC, Karen Worman has been named senior vice president and general manager of Caesars Atlantic City, replacing Joe Lodise. Her most recent position was as the regional vice president of finance for Tropicana, Caesars, and Harrah’s Resort AC.
Denise Coates – CEO of Bet365
- Founded bet365
- Personal fortune estimated at $4.5 billion
- Owns a charity organization, the Denise Coates Foundation
- Was named as one of the 100 most influential women in the UK by Woman’s Hour
It would be impossible to discuss successful women in gambling without bringing up Denise Coates. She’s the indisputable queen in terms of power, wealth, influence, and longevity. You can tell Coates is a high roller because her name is always included on lists of women employed in traditionally male-dominated industries.
The British millionaire is the oldest child of former Stoke City soccer team chairman Peter Coates. She, along with her siblings and her father, founded bet365, one of the biggest privately-owned gambling enterprises in the world, using money borrowed from the family’s network of bookmakers.
These days, Coates and her associates run an organization that manages bets of over $45 billion annually. Her personal wealth is estimated to be around $4.5 billion. Her $485 million pay in 2020 was more than the combined remuneration of all CEOs in the FTSE 100.
