In February of 2024, the gambling world lost a true innovator in the field, in the form of John English.
With a career spanning over four decades in the industry, English held a varied and illustrious array of influential positions. From technological innovator to respected advisor, English’s sphere of influence knew no bounds and his mark on the industry will no doubt ripple through the industry for years to come.
This is precisely why, English is being inducted into SBC’s Sports Betting Hall of Fame, alongside Staci Alonso, Richie Baccellieri, Christian Genetski, Jay Kornegay and Mike Tobin.
A native of Buffalo, New York, English moved to the state of Nevada as a teenager. As an avid sports and sports betting enthusiast, English graduated from Clark High School in 1981. In the same year, English founded and assumed the role of CEO at the American Canadian Lottery Administration, the nation’s first lottery ticket delivery service, to over 200,000 monthly customers.
In 1984, English became the CEO and president of the Winners Award Center, one of the world’s largest sweepstakes and lottery firms, and a global leader of the direct mail lottery. It was during this time English would finesse his skills in copywriting, gaming content, parlay cards, games of skill, sweepstakes and lottery incentives.
In August of 1990, English moved to Pinpoint Direct and Mailworks International as President and CEO. Utilizing the company’s full in-house operation, English oversaw an operation that mailed to millions of homes annually across the United States. During this time, Pinpoint also made a name for itself as having created one of the largest gaming databases in the county, renting player data to almost all of the major casinos and timeshare companies in America.
By the end of 1994, English had already become a tour de force within the industry, having held three separate CEO positions before the age of 35, garnering tremendous respect amongst his contemporaries.
This would be further exemplified in January 1995, when English founded Multimedia Enterprises. Assuming the role of CEO and President, English would describe the company as a “creative think tank for the gaming industry.”
It was during his time at Multimedia Enterprises, that English’s innovative grip was firmly felt on the industry. In addition to contributing to the development of many first-to-market gaming and sweepstake products, Multimedia Enterprises was also responsible for co-founding ChanPoker.com, a play-for-free, affiliate and merchandising company. Moreover, English and Multimedia Enterprises also played a role in the distribution and marketing of Rapid Bet Live, an innovative, in-gaming betting platform.
Arguably, English’s most innovative and notable achievement during his time with the company came in 2003, in the form of the Sports Bet Xpress, the first-ever approved sports betting kiosk. In an era before wifi, and wired internet still in its infancy, English envisioned an innovative system where sports bettors could communicate with a betting terminal via a dial-up connection to a Bally’s Casino betting machine.
Although the birth of the sports betting kiosk was seen as revolutionary at the time, the concept found statewide success years later when adopted by American Wagering Inc. and Leroy’s Sportsbooks, which operated 58 sportsbooks statewide compared to Bally’s, one location.
After the initial success of the Sports Bet Xpress, in 2004 English made the move to Las Vegas Gaming, Inc. as Senior Vice President of Business Development. Primarily focusing on the business development and creative departments, English continued to show his innovative business acumen, co-inventing the first-ever million-dollar jackpot bonus game, the Million Dollar Ticket.
Despite laws prohibiting lotteries in Nevada, English was able to utilize a loophole for lottery-style bonuses, making the lottery mechanic available through machine wagering. The Million Dollar Ticket would go on to bring life-altering jack bonuses to slot and video poker machines across bars in Nevada.
In 2009, English joined American Wagering Inc (AWI), the parent company of Leroy’s Race and Sportsbook, which operated 130 sportsbooks across the state of Nevada. In addition to re-establishing the sports betting kiosk, it was during his time at AWI that English took the inspired leap into mobile gambling.
English’s initial concept was to establish a dedicated sports betting app that would work on mobiles. After partnering with Blackberry developers, the leading mobile phone company at the time, English was able to refine the sports betting app concept, and the app was released for Nevada residents in 2010.
The introduction of the iPhone allowed English to further innovate the app, adding new features such as facial recognition and the adaptation of artificial intelligence to further enhance wagering integrity. English’s app became the first betting app in the United States to be distributed from the App Store.
In 2012 British bookmaker William Hill bought American Wagering Inc. for a reported $18 million. As Senior Vice President of AWI, English played an integral role in the sale, spearheading all of the United States marketing initiatives for William Hill US during the integration process. Additionally, English was vital in communicating the vision and opportunity the American market presented for William Hill, contributing significantly to one of the most consequential acquisitions in US sports betting history.
After brief stints at Gaming Arts LLC as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Public Affairs and TVG Network Betfair US as Senior Vice President of Business Development in Asia & Americas from 2012 – 2014, English founded WEBE Gaming in 2014. He described the company as a “global advisor, operator, developer, and distributor of sports betting, social, casino, lottery, and web 3.0 for the regulated gaming industry.”
In 2021, it was announced English would return to Bet Leroy’s as Chief Innovation Officer, to oversee the reviving of the iconic Vegas brand, a role he was passionately involved in until his untimely death.
English’s memory is continued through his family and friends, who are set to accept his upcoming award at the SBC 2024 Sports Betting Hall of Fame.
