David Johnson: Chief Executive Officer, ReelPlay

David Johnson is Chief Executive Officer of ReelPlay, the Sydney-founded slot studio behind the Infinity Reels mechanic. He was promoted into the role on 16 February 2021, succeeding co-founder Scott Smith. Johnson had joined the company three years earlier as Chief Commercial Officer. Before that, he spent his career on the supplier side of the industry. He held commercial roles at Cryptologic, NextGen Gaming and NYX Gaming Group. Among the operators covered in our executives directory, Johnson runs something different. He leads a B2B content studio rather than a licensed gambling operator. That distinction shapes almost everything about how his business answers to regulators.

David Johnson’s Career Timeline at ReelPlay

Here’s how a decade in slot-supply roles led Johnson to the top job at a studio he’d already helped build.

• 2014 – Mark and Shane Tuita co-found Chance Interactive in Sydney, the studio that later becomes ReelPlay.
• 2018 – Johnson joins as Chief Commercial Officer alongside incoming CEO Scott Smith, following senior commercial roles at Cryptologic, NextGen Gaming and roughly five years at NYX Gaming Group.
• 2019 – Chance Interactive rebrands as ReelPlay.
• April 2020 – ReelPlay signs an IP-sharing agreement with NetEnt after both studios independently develop near-identical expanding-reel mechanics.
• May 2020 – ReelPlay enters the US market for the first time, live in New Jersey through Scientific Games and Golden Nugget Online Casino.
• 16 February 2021 – Johnson is promoted to Chief Executive Officer. Smith moves into a board and advisory role overseeing ReelPlay’s group studios.

Johnson’s pre-CEO career sat entirely on the supply side of the business. He spent it building and licensing slot content rather than running a gambling brand of his own. That’s a different path from most executives in this directory, who typically climb through a single licensed operator.

Why David Johnson’s ReelPlay Matters

ReelPlay’s reputation rests on a mechanic Johnson helped commercialise, and on how far the studio has since spread it.

• Infinity Reels lets a winning spin add extra reels and a growing multiplier, a format ReelPlay says it brought to market first.
• NetEnt built a near-identical mechanic independently around the same time, under the name InfiniReels.
• Rather than fight over the overlap, the two studios signed an IP-sharing deal in April 2020 to protect both versions instead.
• In May 2026, REEVO added ReelPlay’s library to its own aggregation network, opening routes into markets including Alberta’s newly launching online casino market.

The following month, ReelPlay went live on RLX Gaming’s new US aggregation platform. It was the first of Relax Gaming’s partner studios to do so. Johnson called it a chance to expand “our long-term partnership into the regulated North American market.” The rollout started in New Jersey and Pennsylvania with a single title, Lucky Lady Leprechaun. Whether that US push scales past two states is the open question for the next stretch of his tenure. Johnson built his name on one hit mechanic. He may end up building ReelPlay’s future on distribution reach instead.

David Johnson’s Ownership and Origins at ReelPlay

ReelPlay’s ownership sets it apart from the licensed operators covered elsewhere in this directory.

• The studio remains privately held. It’s never been sold to a public group, despite more than a decade of international partnerships.
• Co-founders Mark and Shane Tuita, credited as ReelPlay’s original chief technology officer and game-development lead, remain connected to the studio they built in 2014.
• Smith, who joined alongside Johnson in 2018 and led the company as CEO through its 2019 rebrand, stayed on ReelPlay’s board in an advisory capacity after the 2021 handover rather than leaving outright.
• Correction note – A number of partner pages, including Relax Gaming’s own ReelPlay studio page, still list Scott Smith as Chief Executive. That’s stale. Johnson has held the title since February 2021, and June 2026 coverage of ReelPlay’s US expansion quotes him directly as CEO.

That gap between some partner pages and the real org chart shows something simple. A title change is easy to miss once a studio settles into a new leadership run. Johnson has now led ReelPlay for longer than Smith did.

Regulatory and Distribution Context Facing David Johnson

ReelPlay doesn’t hold a gambling operator’s licence itself. It reaches regulators indirectly, through the platforms and operators that distribute its games under their own licensing frameworks.

• As a B2B slot supplier, ReelPlay’s content only reaches players through licensed partners, so entering a new jurisdiction depends on those partners’ own approvals rather than a licence of ReelPlay’s own.
• In June 2026, ReelPlay’s first title went live in New Jersey and Pennsylvania through RLX Gaming’s aggregation platform, which itself holds licences from the UK Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority, Gibraltar and Canada’s AGCO.
• That layered structure runs Johnson’s regulatory exposure through his commercial partners’ compliance record, not a gambling licence he holds directly.

It’s a different kind of scrutiny than the one facing operators profiled elsewhere in this directory. It still shapes exactly which markets ReelPlay’s games can enter, and when.

Frequently Asked Questions About David Johnson

Who is David Johnson, CEO of ReelPlay?

David Johnson is the Chief Executive Officer of ReelPlay, a Sydney-founded slot studio best known for its Infinity Reels mechanic. He was promoted to the role on 16 February 2021, succeeding co-founder Scott Smith. Johnson had joined ReelPlay in 2018 as Chief Commercial Officer. Before that, he held commercial roles at Cryptologic, NextGen Gaming and NYX Gaming Group.

How did David Johnson become CEO of ReelPlay?

ReelPlay promoted Johnson internally on 16 February 2021. He’d spent three years as the company’s Chief Commercial Officer, working alongside then-CEO Scott Smith since 2018. Smith then stepped back into a board and advisory role overseeing ReelPlay’s group studios. Johnson took over as Chief Executive rather than the company hiring an outside candidate.

What is ReelPlay’s Infinity Reels mechanic?

Infinity Reels is an expanding-reel slot mechanic that ReelPlay says it brought to market first. A winning spin adds extra reels and a growing multiplier. NetEnt developed a near-identical mechanic independently around the same time, called InfiniReels. Rather than dispute the overlap, the two studios signed an IP-sharing agreement in April 2020 protecting both versions.

What was David Johnson’s career before ReelPlay?

Before ReelPlay, Johnson spent his career on the supplier side of the gambling industry. He held senior commercial roles at Cryptologic and NextGen Gaming. He then spent around five years at NYX Gaming Group, later acquired and rebranded as SG Digital. He joined ReelPlay itself in 2018 as Chief Commercial Officer.

Is Scott Smith still CEO of ReelPlay?

No. Johnson has held the Chief Executive title since February 2021. Some partner and directory pages, including Relax Gaming’s own studio page, still describe Smith as ReelPlay’s CEO. That reflects outdated information. Coverage from June 2026 quotes Johnson directly in the role, promoting ReelPlay’s expansion into the regulated US market.

Curious how other suppliers and operators are shaping Australia’s gambling industry? Browse more gambling executive profiles from across the sector.

Gambling Executive Sources

Career timeline

• ReelPlay announces David Johnson as new CEO – iGaming Business
• ReelPlay promotion as David Johnson becomes CEO – CasinoBeats
• Former NYX Gaming Group & ReelPlay CCO moves to CEO role – European Gaming Industry News
• David Johnson, ReelPlay – The Org

Why this company matters

• ReelPlay: Turning visions into a playable reality – CasinoBeats
• NetEnt and ReelPlay agree IP partnership – NetEnt
• REEVO Expands Aggregation Platform With ReelPlay Addition – Gambling News

Ownership and origins

• Mark Tuita, Co-Founder and CTO – LinkedIn
• Shane Tuita, ReelPlay – LinkedIn
• Exclusive interview with David Johnson, CCO at ReelPlay – SlotCatalog
• ReelPlay studio page – Relax Gaming

Regulatory and distribution context

RLX Gaming debuts US aggregation platform through ReelPlay partnership – Relax Gaming