According to the US media, Anurag Dikshit - the reclusive billionaire co-founder of the Gibraltar-based online gambling Web site PartyGaming - pleaded guilty, in the Southern District Court of New York, to one count of violating the Wire Act of 1961, by using communications wires to transmit bets and wagering information in interstate commerce.

Bloomberg quoted Dikshit as saying that Party Gaming accepting customers from the United States "was in fact illegal under U. S. law. I have taken full responsibility for my actions."

Dikshit, the 37-year-old Indian software engineer, faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison, and a fine of $250,000.

US Department of Justice spokeswoman Rebekah Carmichael said Dikshit appeared in court on Tuesday at 500 Pearl Street. He is scheduled to be sentenced before US District Judge Jed S. Rakoff on December 16, 2010.

Dikshit posted a $50 million bond, and has agreed to forfeit a staggering $300 million in three installments to the US Government - possibly the biggest forfeiture in the brief history of prosecuting online gambling executives. He has already paid $100 million, agreed to pay another $100 million within three months, and will post an additional $100 million by September 30th, 2009.

An Associated Press article notes that Forbes indicated Dikshit, the owner of 27% of Party Gaming and its largest shareholder, was worth a whopping $1.6 billion in 2007. Other large-scale owners of Party Gaming, which is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol "PRTY," include Ruth Parasol and Russ DeLeon, with a 17% interest each in the company.