Sports betting icon Billy Walters has entered a plea of not guilty to charges of insider trading filed against him last month.

On Wednesday, Walters (pictured) appeared in a Manhattan federal court to formally rebut allegations that he generated over $40m in illegal gains from insider info provided by former Dean Foods chairman Thomas Davis, who has admitted his guilt and is cooperating with prosecutors.

Following his plea, the 69-year-old Walters was released on $25m bond secured by $10m in property. Prosecutors had argued for a $50m bond and for Walters to be denied the use of his private plane(s), which they argued made him a likely candidate to flee the country in a bid to avoid spending his twilight years behind bars.

Walters’ attorney Barry Berke argued that Walters has had ample opportunity to flee the country in the two weeks since he was indicted, yet here he was. Berke also claimed that the scope of Walters’ business interests across six states wasn’t compatible with flying on commercial airlines.