Peter V'landys confirmed on Thursday morning that he is leaving Racing NSW after 22 years as chief executive, clearing the way for him to run the NRL full-time while staying on as chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission.

The 64-year-old has chaired the commission since 2019. The new arrangement effectively folds the NRL chief executive's job, vacant since Andrew Abdo announced his resignation in May, into the chairmanship. Fellow commissioners have approved the move and he has the backing of the clubs and the states. The appointment had not been formally announced by Thursday morning, and was expected as early as the same day.

No one has held the chairman and executive roles together on a full-time basis since the independent commission was created in 2012. The model was built to separate the board that oversees the game from the executive that runs it. Under the new arrangement one man does both.

His Racing NSW tenure ends with a period of long-service leave in November. Chief operating officer Graeme Hinton is acting chief executive, and no permanent recruitment process has been announced.

“Naturally, this is a very sad day for me. I have put my heart and soul into racing for 22 years," V'landys said in a statement. "As a team, we went from a struggling jurisdiction to a world-leading jurisdiction.”

Racing NSW said his initiatives had brought in $3.5 billion in new funding. He took the job in early 2004 after 17 years running NSW harness racing, led the industry through the 2007 equine influenza outbreak and created The Everest in 2017. Racing NSW chair Dr Saranne Cooke called him "the most effective and successful administrator in the history of Australian sport."

Not everyone in racing agrees. Hall of Fame trainer Gai Waterhouse, who campaigned against his push to sell Rosehill to the NSW Government for housing, told the ABC regional tracks had been "shockingly neglected" during his tenure. "He's a very strong and very powerful person, but it's time for him to move and he has moved on. So let's move on now," she said.

When Abdo announced his exit in May, V'landys said only "Superman and Jesus added together" could replace him. Four months later, the commission's answer is its own chairman.

The timing puts the handover in the middle of finals. The Dolphins host the Roosters in Friday night's preliminary final at 7.50pm, Penrith face Newcastle on Sunday at 4pm, and the grand final is on Sunday 4 October.