Patriots Player Arrested in Illegal Sports Gambling Scheme
Kayshon Boutte, a former LSU wide receiver who was drafted by the New England Patriots last year, has been arrested in connection to a sports gambling scheme dating back years. The charges come after the Louisiana State Police conducted an investigation into his past behavior and found culpability on his part.
Boutte stands accused of allegedly creating an online betting account when he was under the age of 21 and placing bets when he still wasn't of legal gambling age. According to the authorities, he ended up walking away with more than $500,000 in winnings as a result of the scheme, which he allegedly used to put back into more bets. In total, the arrest warrant accuses him of placing nearly 9,000 illegal wagers, including two bets on at least one LSU football game that he played in. He turned himself in on a felony computer fraud charge and misdemeanor underage gaming charge.
The investigation kicked off after state police were contacted by sports betting site FanDuel Sportsbook back in July 2023. It relayed the troubling claim that "a prohibited person, a collegiate athlete, possibly made several sports wagers." Though he was no longer an LSU student at the time, the school was made aware of his behavior and helped the police conduct their investigation.
"In July 2023, LSU was made aware of allegations regarding a former student-athlete’s improper conduct related to sports gambling while enrolled at the university. Since then, we have fully cooperated with all relevant authorities involved in the investigation and will continue to do so," the school said in a statement after his arrest, per WAFB. "We have no evidence that any other student-athletes participated in these prohibited activities, and we are grateful for measures that detect and discourage sports gambling related misconduct."
His current team acknowledged the situation in a statement to ESPN. "The New England Patriots are aware that Kayshon Boutte is cooperating with Louisiana police regarding their investigation into an underage gambling charge while he was a student at Louisiana State University," the team said.
Boutte was released on bond and remains on the Patriots' official roster as he awaits trial.