Russia’s bookmaking industry is in mourning following Friday’s news of the untimely death of Oleg Zhuravsky.

Zhuravsky (pictured), president of the First Self-Regulatory Organization of Russian Bookmakers (First SRO) and former president of Russian betting operator Liga Stavok, died suddenly on Thursday, just two weeks after celebrating his 48th birthday. The news was confirmed on Facebook via Liga Stavok’s public relations department.

Zhuravsky began his career in Russia’s betting business in 1997 and went on to establish the country’s first industry group, the National Association of Russian Bookmakers (NAL) in 2006, thereby beginning his lifelong campaign to work with government officials to ensure the development of a suitable legal environment for sports betting in his homeland.

It was in 2006 that Russia’s government first announced plans to banish all gambling activity to a handful of geographically remote designated gaming zones. It was largely thanks to Zhuravsky’s efforts that, when the government finally imposed the new restrictions in 2009, retail bookmakers were allowed to continue to operate in cities and towns across the country.