Louisiana State Police have arrested a former LSU football player and booked him with illegal gambling.
Kayshon Boutte, 21, a native of New Iberia who graduated from Westgate, is accused of online sports gambling - including bets placed on his own team - between April 2022 and May 2023. He's now a wide receiver for the New England Patriots, but at the time he's accused of breaking gambling laws, he was playing for LSU.
In July 2023, the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division were called by an online gambling company about sports wagers made by a person prohibited from gambling.
The investigation revealed that Boutte allegedly participated in sports gambling when he was only 20 years old. He used an alias and, troopers say, he placed more than 8,900 bets during that year. Of those, 17 were on NCAA football games, and of those six were on LSU football.
On January 18, an arrest warrant was issued for him on charges of felony computer fraud and gaming prohibited for people younger than 21 years of age. He was booked into jail in Baton Rouge.
Our media partners at The Advocate did some digging and published details they found in Baton Rouge court records. To read about that, click here.
This investigation is still ongoing, and additional charges may be forthcoming, State Police say.
"The Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division, in conjunction with the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, will continue to work to ensure the integrity of gaming activities in Louisiana. Anyone wishing to report illegal gaming activity is encouraged to contact the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division. Contact information may be found online at https://www.lsp.org/gaming-enforcement-division/ [lsp.org]," a release states.
According to our media partners at The Advocate, Boutte was drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He had two catches for 19 yards while playing in three games as a rookie.
After the 2022 regular season, the Advocate reports, Boutte said he would come back to LSU for his senior year. A few weeks later, he instead declared for the draft before the Citrus Bowl. Boutte had not been around the team and would have been suspended for the bowl game for an unrelated incident, sources told The Advocate.
The Advocate got the following statement from LSU:
"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," LSU said in a statement. "Since then, we have fully cooperated with all relevant authorities involved in the investigation and will continue to do so. 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."