Former LSU star arrested for placing 8,900 illegal wagers
Wide receiver Kayshon Boutte arrested after betting $636,000 on football games including on his own college team, and himself, per reports
Ex-Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers wide receiver Kayshon Boutte has been arrested and charged on suspicion of placing over 8,900 bets while he was under the age of 21.
Boutte, who is currently a wide receiver for the NFL’s New England Patriots, has been charged after an online gambling company – named as FanDuel in a copy of the affidavit obtained by sports news website The Athletic – contacted Louisiana State police to a report a “prohibited player” had placed bets on college games.
There were no reports of bets having been placed on NFL fixtures.
Louisiana State Police issued the arrest warrant for Boutte on January 18, 2023, and arrested the American footballer one week later, January 25.
Boutte is alleged to have opened an online account under an alias, then used the account to bet on 17 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) games, at least six of which featured LSU, between April 6, 2022, and May 7, 2023, per a police statement.
The affidavit stated a FanDuel account was opened on June 7, 2022, set up with the username ‘kayshonboutte7’ and using a bank card in the name of Tanisha Boutte, the player’s mother.
A second account was later discovered to have been opened on April 5, 2022, under the name Kayla Fortenberry, with a username ‘kayshonboutte01’. This account was also funded by a bank card under his mother’s name.
As reported by The Athletic, on September 4, 2022, via these accounts, Boutte allegedly placed a wager on a game between LSU and Florida State University, that he would score at least one touchdown, as well as another bet he would get score over 82.5 receiving yards. Both bets were part of an eight-leg parlay.
In the game, he recorded 20 receiving yards and no touchdowns in a 24-23 loss, seeing his eight-leg parlay come up short.
The affidavit reported that Boutte bet $450,000 and lost $65,000 in 2022, followed by $186,000 in bets resulting in a $16,000 loss in 2023.
In a statement, LSU said they were made aware of the allegations in 2023 and fully cooperated with the police investigation.
“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.”
The NCAA relaxed the rules for student-athletes who place bets on teams other than their own in their respective college last November, with players now banned for one season and losing a year of eligibility before being allowed to return.
Student-athletes who place bets on their own team, however, can receive a permanent loss of collegiate eligibility.
The NFL beefed-up its sanctions in October following several suspensions for players found guilty of breaking its gambling rules. Any player found attempting to match-fix will face a permanent suspension while those found placing wagers on NFL games will be forced to serve a one-year minimum indefinite suspension, rising to two years if the wager is placed on their own team.