The five industry pioneers in the Sports Betting Hall of Fame Class of 2020 were inducted in a special virtual ceremony at SBC Digital Summit North America on Wednesday.
The Sports Betting Hall of Fame recognizes the legends who have made an outstanding lasting contribution to the betting and gaming industry over their careers.
The Class of 2020 includes:
- Victor Salerno, President, USBookmaking & US Fantasy Sports
- Raymond Lesniak, Former Senator New Jersey
- Roxy Roxborough, Legendary Las Vegas Oddsmaker
- Sara Slane, Former Sr. VP, American Gaming Association
- Jay Rood, COO, Bet.Works
In more normal times, the ceremony is lavish, but current conditions required it to happen remotely via Zoom. During the ceremony, Lesniak and Slane shared some of their experiences in the fight to overturn PASPA, while Salerno, Roxborough and Rood told some stories from their long careers in the industry.
Sue Schneider, SBC’s Vice President of Growth and Strategy, said: “All five of these individuals thoroughly deserve the honor, as they are among the trailblazers of sports betting in the United States. From operators, legislatures, oddsmakers, and industry advocates, this group also shows the depth and breadth of the overall industry within the U.S.”
Lesniak, Slane, Salerno and Rood will be taking part in the “Hall of Fame Panel” at the SBC Digital Summit today at 6 p.m. ET, where they’ll share their insights and ideas about the big issues facing the legal sports betting industry as it seeks to establish itself across the U.S.
The Class of 2020 join Art Manteris (VP Race and Sports Book Operations, Station Casinos), Dennis Drazan (CEO, Monmouth Park) and Chris Christie (former NJ governor) as members of the Hall of Fame from the U.S. industry.
International inductees include Carsten Koerl (CEO, Sportradar), Mark Blandford (Founder, Sportingbet), Howard Chisholm (Director, Bookmakers Technology Consortium), Paris Smith (CEO, Pinnacle), Fred Done (Founder, Betfred), Vigen Badalyan (Founder & CEO, BetConstruct), Norbert Teufelberger (Co-Founder, Bwin), Pontus Lindwall (CEO, Betsson), Warwick Bartlett (CEO, GBGC), Constantinos Antonopoulos (Vice-Chairman, Intralot), Fabio Schiavolin (CEO, Snaitech), Denise Coates (Founder & CEO, bet365), John Boyle (Founder & Chairman, BoyleSports), John Anderson (Former CEO, 888 Holdings), Armin Sageder (Founder, paysafecard & BGT), Richard Flint (Former CEO, Sky Betting & Gaming) and Jukka Honkavaara (placed first-ever online sports bet).
