The former Chief Executive Officer of one of the US’s largest past betting groups, BetOnSports, David Carruthers, has entered into a plea agreement with the Department of Justice in a bid to get his prison sentence reduced.

Carruthers, who has been under house arrest since 2006, has agreed to cooperate with the DOJ during any further cases against BetOnSports executives, in exchange for a substantial reduction in prison time.

Carruthers faces up to 20 years in prison for racketeering charges, but he may only serve 33 months, as part of the plea bargain. In court, Carruthers pleaded guilty but said that when he was approached by Gary Kaplan, founder of BetOnSports to serve as the group’s CEO, he was under the impression that sports betting was acceptable under US law. Carruthers will be sentenced in October.