Kayshon Boutte – Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
Former LSU WR Kayshon Bouttee was arrested for illegal online sports betting charges alleging he used fraudulent accounts to gamble on his games.
Kayshon Boutte is currently a wide receiver for the New England Patriots yet his college days are coming back to haunt him. With Name, Image, and Likeness deals finally happening in college sports you have to try pretty hard to get in trouble for making money as a college athlete.
According to On3, Kayshon did so in the most ridiculous yet impressive way humanly possible.
On January 25 Boutee turned himself in to East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on felony computer fraud charges related to online sports betting. In addition to felony charges, he received a misdemeanor charge of “gaming prohibited for persons under 21”.
Allegedly the former LSU standout created a fraudulent betting account and placed almost 9,000 bets. Perhaps the most impressive part is he only deposited a total of $132,147.53 but his total earned was $556,267.58. Allegedly his withdrawals only totaled around $50k during his illegal gambling from April 2022 until May 2023.
Kayshon Boutte allegedly placed bets on LSU football games and his stat lines as well. Even if you don’t know the rules on sports betting you probably understand how betting on yourself is illegal without any explanation.
LSU issued a statement when Kayshon’s arrest warrant was issued.
“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,” the statement read. “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.”
Given the serious nature of his offenses, the most shocking part of the whole ordeal was his username on the fraudulent accounts. His usernames allegedly included portions of his government name according to The Athletic
This is the most interesting illegal sports betting case in college football history. The outcome will be interesting and worth keeping an eye on.