The former chief of Betonsports, David Carruthers, has been hold in custody for 3 years under house arrest, but after 3 years of being under house arrest, David Carruthers, decided to withdraw an arranged guilty plea just days before he was due to be sentenced by a US court on federal racketeering conspiracy for violating US' swaggering restrictions of online gaming including repeated mail fraud, Wire Wager Act violations, operation of an illegal gambling business and money laundering.

Carruthers declined comment after the court hearing, but said during the proceeding that he initially was unaware online gambling was illegal when he was hired byGary Kaplan in June 2000. Carruthers' attorney, Scott Rosenblum of St. Louis, did not return phone calls seeking comment. However, the company itself, based in Costa Rica, pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in May 2007.

David Carruthers' arrest took place in Dallas airport after coming in from Bahrain. Carruthers was supposed to land in Costa Rica, where the operational base of the company was located.

The purpose and intentions for Carruther's withdrawal of his guilty plea stay behind uncertain. According to a spokesperson for the US attorney’s office in St Louis, Missouri, the prosecutors are not willing to talk about the case. The company’s founder, Gary Kaplan, along with other Betonsports executives, is still pleading guilty.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, BetonSports agreed to supply evidence and witnesses in the cases against Carruthers and the company’s founder, Gary Kaplan, in exchange for which the company was released from the threat of criminal prosecution.

This recent development is expected to catch on the hop the supporters of Carruthers, who have been keeping their fingers crossed on his return home on Friday, at which point he was expected to be permited to return to the UK having already been in U.S. custody for more than three years.

Federal agents have been investigating offshore sports gambling since 1997, and BetOnSports since 2001. After a short legal filing, the court has granted the “motion to set aside David Carruthers' guilty plea.” The hearing for the “change of plea” is scheduled meanwhile for October 14.

The state of Delaware’s appeal of a ruling that its plan to allow betting on professional sports violates a federal ban will not be heard, a federal court ruled on Tuesday, reports the Reuters news agency.

Thomas M. Hardiman, one of 3 judges who ruled unanimously in August that Delaware’s plan to allow point-spread bets on individual games in all major sports from 3 racetrack casinos violated federal law and initially ruled that Delaware's betting plans infringe on a federal ban, wrote that the state's en banc petition was given to all active judges of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals and a majority decided not to rehear the case.

The state has one more avenue of appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court. However, Governor Jack Markell's spokesman called that route as "unlikely". Instead, for the predictable future and maybe permanently, Delaware will be limited to "parlay" bets on the outcome of at least 3 National Football League NFL games.

The state's 3 racetrack casinos have been offering such wagers at their betting parlors since Sept. 10, opening day of the NFL season. Governor Jack Markell did not comment straight away. But in a written statement, legal counsel Michael Barlow.

Michael Barlow said, "Obviously, we are disappointed with today's ruling. We realize that it is rare that the Third Circuit will hear cases with all 12 active judges, but this was an important issue for the state of Delaware and we thought the state should have a chance to make its case at trial."

Governor Jack Markell spokesman Joe Rogalsky said the state was still reviewing its options, but was unlikely to appeal to the only higher judicial body, the Supreme Court.

"I'm extremely disappointed," said Bill Fasy, president of Delaware Park, which along with Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway spent a total of about $15 million on fancy sports betting venues at their casinos.

"In the big picture this is a blow to any potential growth in our already saturated market." While Delaware, which expects to bring in for about $249 million in state revenues from its casinos this year and also preparing to offer table games such as blackjack and roulette in the spring that Atlantic City casinos have long offered them.

Delaware sports gambling will be limited to parlay bets on the outcome of at least 3 National Football League NFL games. About $946,000 has been bet so far.