Joint venture of Delaware North and GAMING1 providing turnkey sports betting and iGaming solution to regional land-based casinos
John Worthington, who has lead several online gaming operations for multi-jurisdictional casino operators, has been named general manager of Gamewise, the new digital gaming joint venture.
Gamewise was recently launched by Delaware North, a global hospitality company with a portfolio of regional casinos and gaming venues in the United States and Australia, and leading Belgian gaming and sports betting partner GAMING1. It will use GAMING1’s proprietary sports betting and casino platform and product technologies to deliver turnkey digital gaming solutions to licensed operators in North America. Delaware North will also offer its mobile iGaming brand, Betly.com, exclusively through the partnership in new markets where it operates land-based casinos.
Worthington brings a decade of operating and leadership experience in digital gaming to Gamewise. Most recently, he served as senior director of iGaming and sports operations for Parx Casino near Philadelphia. Before that he was vice president of operations for Penn Interactive, leading the creation and development of a new online gaming venture for Penn National Gaming.
“John Worthington has the depth of expertise and experience to accelerate the growth of Gamewise and launch and manage its operations both for Delaware North and for clients who seek access to a turnkey solution,” said Luisa Woods, vice president of marketing for Delaware North’s gaming division. “Both Delaware North and GAMING1 are thrilled John has joined this venture to deliver a new kind of sports betting and iGaming solution that operators are actively seeking.”
Worthington will be based in downtown Miami, where Gamewise is establishing its headquarters. Miami has become a burgeoning technology hub, attracting IT talent and a variety of gaming companies.
“I’m very excited to join Gamewise and be a part of something very special that Delaware North and GAMING1 have conceived that fills a gap in the online gaming market,” Worthington said. “I think a lot of operators are going to see the benefits of this model so they can invest in their own brand and still be able to focus on their core business.”
At Penn, Worthington led all aspects of the delivery of its iGaming platform, including coordination with Penn’s IT, legal, compliance and marketing groups. He also handled contract negotiations with third-party providers and guided the launch through regulatory and licensing requirements. At Parx Casino, Worthington was an important part of a team that launched iGaming and sports betting in Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Jersey. He led new market entries with platform providers and regulators, and he eventually built a team of nearly 50 employees across multiple locations to enhance guest service, reduce fraud and provide efficiencies.
Worthington began his career in digital marketing and business operations with EMC Corp., now Dell EMC, and focused on interactive marketing at other online and software focused companies before joining Penn.
Worthington has been a panelist at GiGse (Totally Gaming) and the National Council of Legislators of Gaming States (NCLGS). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a marketing concentration from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
Gamewise will bring to market a modular and flexible sports betting and casino platform that provides a seamless betting and gaming experience with superior gamification capabilities, full land-based integration, localized bet pricing and market-leading bet acceptance ratios.
