Rick Smith, executive director of the Interactive Gaming Council, has announced his departure from the organization at the end of March.
Smith said in a letter to members and associates that it was time for a career change.
Smith will be taking up a new position as Head of Government Affairs, Policy and Regulation for the UC Group, a privately owned U.K.-based firm specializing in payment processing, financing and logistics in support of e-commerce.
Smith said he has the utmost confidence in his replacement, John Fitzgerald, a Canadian lawyer and former IGC director. He served on the IGC board when he was general counsel and compliance officer for CryptoLogic.
"We've been through a lot together," Smith said. "For many of you, and for the IGC and industry generally, this has been a period of remarkable growth and rewarding opportunities. However, there is no denying there have been bumps along the way. I know that many of you are still coping with fallout from the passage of the U.S. Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act last October.
"In the long run, I remain optimistic that interactive gaming has a bright future as an accepted, regulated, vibrant industry, even in the U.S."
Before being named executive director of the IGC in 2000, Smith served as a gaming regulator in New Zealand. From 1994 to mid 1997 he assisted the New Zealand government department responsible for regulating gaming with the introduction of land-based casinos in Christchurch and Auckland and performed a review of the licensing regime for gaming machines (slots) operating in venues outside of casinos. He then moved on to the Queensland Office of Gaming Regulation in Australia, where he assumed responsibility for developing the Interactive Gambling (Player Protection) Act 1998.