Tony Chau, founder of sportsbettingchamp.com and author of Exterminator Sports Betting System, has pleaded guilty in federal court for running an illegal gambling operation and hiding more than $1.5 million from the IRS.

A math geek with an intense passion for sports and statistics Chau founded his first sports betting system The Sports Betting Champ in 2007, published under the name “John Morrison.”

Chau/Morrison acted as an affiliate for the bookmaker BetOnline. He stated in his blog that this affiliation allowed him to negotiate great deals with sportsbooks (extra deposit bonuses, extra redeposit bonuses, higher betting limits) for his customers. As a US citizen, this got him into legal trouble and his domain was seized by homeland security.

According to a plea agreement unsealed on Thursday, Chau operated the now-closed sportsbettingchamp.com with help from offshore sports books in Costa Rica and Panama, which do not have Nevada licenses.