BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Former LSU football player Kayshon Boutte has been arrested for illegal online gambling.
The WAFB I-TEAM was first to report on the case Thursday after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Some of the alleged illegal gambling took place when he was an LSU player, investigators allege. However, a source familiar with the case said Boutte never “bet against himself” and his actions at LSU games. In other words, he will not be accused of throwing a game.
Boutte faced charges of computer fraud, a felony, and a misdemeanor count of prohibited gaming to persons under 21 years of age.
Arrangements were made for Boutte to be arraigned in court, posted $6,000 bail and then immediately released from the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail.
Kayshon Boutte (LSU)
While he was a minor, Boutte is accused of creating a fraudulent online gaming account that stated he was 21 or older. Therefore, gambling is permitted by law.
He is also accused of illegal gambling in which he used this fraudulent account to place thousands of different bets, including some on LSU football. The bets and payouts totaled “several hundred thousand dollars,” said a source familiar with the case.
Some of the bets were reportedly made while he was still a player at LSU in 2022.
Boutte, now 21, is currently on the New England Patriots roster. He played in five games for the Patriots last season.
The New Iberia native and Westgate High School graduate spent three years with the LSU Tigers as a wide receiver, appearing in 27 games with 21 starts.
LSU issued the following statement:
“In July 2023, LSU was made aware of allegations relating to a former student-athlete’s inappropriate conduct related to sports gambling while enrolled at the university. Since then, we have cooperated fully with all relevant authorities involved in the investigation and will continue to do so. We have no evidence that other student-athletes participated in these prohibited activities, and we are grateful for actions that detect and stop misconduct related to sports gambling.”
Can Kayshon Boutte be the next Justin Jefferson or Ja'Marr Chase? Boutte had over 100 yards receiving in the final three games of 2020.
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