An eSports YouTube star and his business partner have pled guilty to illegal gambling activity in the UK, marking the first successful prosecutions of eSports gambling.

On Monday, BBC News reported that Craig Douglas (pictured, inset) and his business partner Dylan Rigby had withdrawn their not guilty pleas and admitted their roles in encouraging eSports players to bet virtual currency known as FIFA Coins on eSports betting site FUTGalaxy, which offers random slots or lottery games.

Last September, the UK Gambling Commission commenced legal proceedings against Douglas and Rigby, accusing them of promoting a lottery and advertising unlawful gambling via their YouTube videos. Douglas, who operated on YouTube under the screen name Nepenthez, had over 1.3m subscribers, many of whom were below the legal age for gambling in the UK.

In October, the pair entered not guilty pleas and Monday’s hearing was expected to be the start of a week-long hearing. Instead, Douglas pled guilty to providing facilities for gambling without a UK gambling license and promoting unlawful gambling. Rigby, who reportedly had a greater role in running the FUTGalaxy site, pled guilty to two charges of operating without a gambling license and a charge of promoting unlawful gambling.