New England WR Kayshon Boutte Arrested For Illegal Sports Betting From LSU Days

Published•Updated

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - Apparently, former LSU wide receiver Kayshon Boutte made some bad bets on the bayou.

Bad as in illegal. It is unknown how much money he won or lost. But Boutte placed over 8,900 bets in 2022 and 2023, according to a Louisiana State Police news release on Thursday. He bet on 17 college football games, including six LSU games in his final season with the Tigers in 2022, State Police said.

Kayshon Boutte (No. 7) celebrates a touchdown catch he made for LSU against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 3, 2022, in Atlanta. (Getty Images)

Boutte, 21, was jailed and soon released from East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on Thursday after posting a $6,000 bond, a bonding spokesman told OutKick. State Police arrested Boutte on felony charges of computer fraud for using an alias and saying he was over 21 at the time in order to place bets. He was also charged with gaming while under 21 - a misdemeanor.

Former LSU Tiger Kayshon Boutte Bet On 6 Of His Games

"We have fully cooperated with with all relevant authorities involved in the investigation and will continue to do so," a statement released by LSU said. "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."

Boutte played in 11 games in the 2022 season, catching 48 passes for 538 yards and two touchdowns. He entered the 2023 NFL Draft as a junior. New England took him in the sixth round. He caught two passes for 19 yards in five games last season.

In the 2022 season, Boutte missed a game to serve a one-game suspension by the NCAA for accepting money for signing autographs in 2021 shortly before that became legal via Name, Image & Likeness.

Boutte did not get along well with new coach Brian Kelly when he arrived following the 2021 season.

LSU Says No Other Players Gambled With Kayshon Boutte

"We have no evidence that any other student-athletes participated in these prohibited activities," LSU's release said.

But 8,900 bets is a lot for one person.

"Kayshon Boutte participated in sports gambling from April 6, 2022, until May 7, 2023," the State Police release said. "During this period, Boutte used an alias to circumvent the legal age (21) required for placing sports wagers in Louisiana. Between April 6, 2022, and May 7, 2023, the alias account believed to be used by Boutte placed over 8,900 wagers. At least 17 were on college football games, with at least six on LSU football."

Kayshon Boutte turned 21 on May 7, 2023.

WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge first reported the story and quoted a source that said Boutte never bet "against himself" in the six LSU games.

Tags
Written by
Guilbeau joined OutKick as an SEC columnist in September of 2021 after covering LSU and the Saints for 17 years at USA TODAY Louisiana. He has been a national columnist/feature writer since the summer of 2022, covering college football, basketball and baseball with some NFL, NBA, MLB, TV and Movies and general assignment, including hot dog taste tests. A New Orleans native and Mizzou graduate, he has consistently won Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) awards since covering Alabama and Auburn at the Mobile Press-Register (1993-98) and LSU and the Saints at the Baton Rouge Advocate (1998-2004). In 2021, Guilbeau won an FWAA 1st for a game feature, placed in APSE Beat Writing, Breaking News and Explanatory, and won Beat Writer of the Year from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA). He won an FWAA columnist 1st in 2017 and was FWAA's top overall winner in 2016 with 1st in game story, 2nd in columns, and features honorable mention. Guilbeau completed a book in 2022 about LSU's five-time national champion coach - "Everything Matters In Baseball: The Skip Bertman Story" - that is available at www.acadianhouse.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble outlets. He lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, the former Michelle Millhollon of Thibodaux who previously covered politics for the Baton Rouge Advocate and is a communications director.