PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg pled guilty to charges of operating an illegal online gambling business Wednesday afternoon in a New York federal court.

The plea comes two months after the 73-year-old duel citizen of Canada and Israel originally surrendered to U.S. authorities. He was released on $1 million bail after initially pleading not guilty to all charges.

On Wednesday, however, he pled guilty to one count of operating an illegal gambling business. Scheinberg is now facing up to five years behind bars.

A Representative of Scheinberg said that the other charges were dropped and Scheinberg is excited to move on.

“Mr. Scheinberg is pleased to put this matter behind him and that all charges other than violating the 1971 Gambling Act have been dropped. Notably, all PokerStars players were paid back immediately and Mr. Scheinberg played an important role in ensuring that all of the players from other sites were repaid as well,” said Scheinberg’s representative.

According to the Department of Justice press release, Congress is recommending the maximum penalty. Scheinberg’s punishment will be levied by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan at a later date.

Scheinberg and 10 other executives of other major online poker rooms were charged with bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling in April 2011 on what the poker world refers to as “Black Friday.”

With Scheinberg’s admission of guilt, all 11 charged have now entered guilty pleas.

The government seized the domain names and funds of online poker rooms that were still operating in the U.S. after the 2006 passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act. For nearly nine years, Scheinberg stayed outside of the U.S. and continued to operate his business.

Even with the prison time recommended by Congress, it seems unlikely Scheinberg spends time incarcerated. Federal prosecutor Olga Zverovich told Forbes in January that the U.S. had “an agreement in principle on the basic terms” with Scheinberg.

“Ten years ago, this Office charged 11 defendants who operated, or provided fraudulent payment processing services to, three of the largest online poker companies then operating in the United States – PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker – with operating illegal gambling businesses and other crimes,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman in a press release. “As Isai Scheinberg’s guilty plea today shows, the passage of time will not undermine this Office’s commitment to holding accountable individuals who violate U.S. law.”

Scheinberg founded PokerStars in 2001 and continued to operate in the legal grey area that existed in the United States after 2006.

In 2012, the company agreed to a civil asset forfeiture settlement wit the government and gave $547 million to the U.S. government. Just a year later, Scheinberg’s son, who took over the company following the 2011 charges, forked over an additional $50 million.

In 2014, the Scheinberg’s sold the company to Amaya for $4.9 billion. The company has since partially re-entered the U.S. market in the now legal and regulated New Jersey and Pennsylvania markets.

Hamilton Accies boss Brian Rice has been charged with breaching Scottish FA gambling rules and says he wrote to the governing body to “self-report”.

The 56-year-old has been accused of breaching the rules in each season from 14 July 2015 to 15 October 2019.

Rice, who has previously admitted to gambling addiction, faces a hearing on 30 January.

“I would like to express my regret to the players, coaching staff and my friends and colleagues,” he said.

Rice, who became Accies head coach in January 2019, described it as a “lapse” in a statement on his club’s website in which Hamilton say they have co-operated fully with the association throughout the investigation period.

He was accused of breaching disciplinary rule 31, which states that “no club, official, team official or other member of team staff, player, match official or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall gamble in any way on a football match”.

The former Hibernian, Nottingham Forest and Falkirk midfielder could face a suspension of at least three matches and a maximum of 16 plus a £100,000 fine.

“This decision was one of the hardest I have had to take, but in a way also the easiest,” he said. “I have made no secret of the fact that I have struggled with the disease that is gambling addiction in the past.

“The reality is I am an addict and, while I have been proud of the fact I have been in recovery from this disease, a key part of the recovery programme is honesty: honesty to myself and honesty to those who have and who continue to support me, including my family and my football family at Hamilton.”

It is understood that Rice “reached out” to the SFA about the offences, which have led to one charge for each of the previous five seasons.

“I wrote a letter to the Scottish FA self-reporting my gambling and did so as an admission that my disease has returned in order that I commit to recovery,” he said.

“I accept that a breach of the rules will come with punishment and I accept that. The reason I am speaking out is to remove the stigma attached to this horrible, isolating disease in the hope that those involved in Scottish football who are similarly in its grasp feel they can seek help and draw strength from my admission.

“After committing to recovery I cannot believe that I have found myself back in the grip of gambling addiction, but this disease is not cured with a finite course of treatment.”

Rice’s statement and Hamilton’s support for their head coach have been described as “brave” by Conservative MSP Ruth Davidson, who said on Twitter: “Gambling is a disease and hypocrisy in football is rife – shirt sponsors, FA goals rights sold to betting websites – without acknowledgement of human cost.”