Robert Williams was named Acting Executive Director of the New York State Gaming Commission by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in January 2013. He most recently served as Acting Director of the New York Lottery. Williams brings two decades of regulatory and public policy experience to the Gaming Commission.

Williams was awarded a 1992‐1993 N.Y.S. Senate Post‐Graduate Fellow and assigned to the N.Y.S. Legislative Commission on Public‐Private Cooperation where he undertook research on privatization and performance planning. The Fellowship was followed with an appointment as Counsel to the newly established N.Y.S. Senate Finance Subcommittee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering.

In 1995, he moved to the New York State Racing and Wagering Board as an Assistant Counsel, ultimately rising to the position of Director of Indian Gaming Regulation. He most recently served as Special Assistant Counsel in the Office of the Governor, focusing on Native American issues and assisting with the development of gaming policy. Williams also serves as Chair of the Franchise Oversight Board, providing legally mandated oversight of The New York Racing Association, Inc.’s finances.

Williams also served in 1996 as Counsel to the New York State Task Force on Casino Gambling and in 2005‐2007 as Executive Director of the New York State Committee on the Future of Racing.