Authorities said new england patriots wide receiver kayshon boutte was arrested on thursday on suspicion of illegal online gaming while he was under the age of 18 and attending louisiana state university.
Boutte has been charged with creating an online betting account under a false name and placing more than 8,900 illegal bets. At least 17 of the bets were on ncaa football games, according to a news release from state police. Six were bets on lsu football. According to a bail affidavit, two bets are alleged to have been placed on an lsu game in which boutte played, according to baton rouge news outlets.
According to louisiana state police, bets were placed while he was still under the age of 21 and not legally allowed to gamble. according to investigators, the efforts resulted in more than $500,000 in winnings, with the bulk of the money being used to place additional bets. Boutte, who is now 21 years old, is on the patriots’ roster. Last season, he appeared in five games. Boutte surrendered to police on thursday on a felony charge of computer theft and a misdemeanor count of gaming prohibited for persons under the age of 21.
After posting a $6,000 bond, he was released from the east baton rouge parish prison. He did not know if he had an attorney who could represent him in jail. Computer misconduct is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and a five-year or less jail term. Illegal gambling can result in a $1,000 fine and six months in jail. According to arrest records, fanduel sportsbook contacted louisiana state police last july, claiming that “a prohibited individual, a collegiate athlete,” may have made many sports bets.” according to the warrant, boutte allegedly created the name of a fictitious female, kayla fortenberry, to create the online gaming account and used his own mother’s credit card to fund the account.
According to the warrant, seventeen bets were placed on ncaa football, including bets on lsu football between aug. 28, 2022 and oct. 9, 2023. Investigators suspect that six of the bets were on lsu football, including one game – lsu versus florida state – in which he bet on himself. Boutte reportedly placed one bet that he would personally score at least one touchdown and another that he would have over 82.5 receiving yards in that particular game, which took place on september 4, 2022. In that game, he had two catches for 20 yards and no touchdowns.
