In the electrifying world of darts, where precision meets passion, few figures are as recognizable as Russ Bray, the legendary referee whose raspy “180” calls have echoed through arenas for nearly three decades. Known as the “Voice of Darts,” Bray has become a cornerstone of the sport’s global surge, and now, at 67, he’s reaping the rewards of a new era sparked by teenage sensation Luke Littler. Bray recently revealed that his side hustle—a darts scoring app bearing his name—has seen its earnings more than double, a phenomenon he attributes to the “Luke Littler effect.” “When you talk about the Luke Littler effect, last year I probably earned £30,000 from it,” Bray shared, a stark contrast to the £12,000 he averaged annually before Littler’s rise.
The story of Bray’s financial windfall began over a decade ago when a developer from northern England, Andrew Aisbitt, approached him with a bold idea. “A guy got hold of me from up north and asked if he could do a Russ Bray darts app,” Bray recalled. “I said: ‘How much is it going to cost me?’ He said: ‘Nothing. All you’ve got to do is record names and numbers.’” Bray lent his iconic voice to the app, which allows players worldwide to score their matches while hearing his signature calls, from “Game on” to triumphant “One hundred and eighty!” Launched in 2014, the Russ Bray Darts Scorer app became a hit among fans, but its success skyrocketed following Littler’s breakout performance at the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship.
Littler, an 18-year-old prodigy from Warrington, England, captured the world’s attention by reaching the final of the 2024 World Championship as a 66/1 outsider, ultimately falling to Luke Humphries. His electrifying debut, which included victories over darts legends like Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross, drew unprecedented interest to the sport. In 2025, Littler cemented his stardom by becoming the youngest-ever World Championship winner, defeating Humphries in a thrilling rematch. This victory, coupled with his 2024 Premier League Darts title and wins in the Bahrain and Poland Darts Masters, transformed darts into a global phenomenon, bringing in legions of new fans.
Bray’s app became a direct beneficiary of this surge. “Looking at what I normally get from it every month, I’d say the month after Luke Littler made the final, I got paid 12, maybe 13 times more than what I normally get,” Bray noted, describing the financial spike in early 2024. The following months saw payouts nine and eight times his usual earnings, a testament to Littler’s ability to captivate audiences. “Luke Littler has brought darts to the fore,” Bray declared, crediting the young star for elevating the sport’s visibility and, by extension, his app’s popularity.
Beyond the app, Bray has capitalized on his fame through other ventures. He records personalized video messages on Cameo, earning £37.50 per 30-second clip, a side hustle that has netted him over £18,000. “I get £37.50 per 30-second Cameo advert and have done £18,000’s worth,” he said, describing messages like, “Hello Bert, Russ Bray here. Mavis wants to wish you a happy 50th birthday.” Bray’s distinctive voice, shaped by years of smoking since age 10, has also landed him voiceover work for brands like Coral, Ladbrokes, and McCoy’s Crisps, as well as a role in the PDC’s first video game.
Bray’s journey to darts icon was anything but conventional. A former policeman who once escorted Frank Sinatra and pulled over David Essex for speeding, Bray also excelled as a high jumper, out-leaping Olympic legend Daley Thompson in his youth. His refereeing career began by chance when a county match caller failed to show, leading to his PDC debut in 1996. Inducted into the PDC Hall of Fame in 2024, Bray stepped back from full-time refereeing after the 2024 World Championship final but remains a PDC ambassador, appearing at World Series events and the upcoming ITV Bullseye reboot alongside Littler.
Littler’s impact extends beyond Bray’s earnings “‘Luke has the attributes to become like Phil Taylor and dominate darts for the next 20 years,’ Bray predicted in his autobiography, All About Darts. Posts on X echo this sentiment, with fans praising Littler’s role in “heralding a new era of darts.” Meanwhile, Bray’s app continues to thrive, now endorsed by Unicorn, as darts rides the wave of Littler’s stardom. From Alexandra Palace to apps worldwide, the “Voice of Darts” and “The Nuke” are proving to be a winning combination.