United States
United Kingdom
Summary:
- Louisiana State Police Charged Boutte with computer fraud and prohibited gambling.
- The investigation into the matter is ongoing, and additional charges may be added.
- The charges stem from actions Boutte reportedly took when he was 20 years old.
Twenty-one-year-old Kayshon Boutte, a wide receiver for the New England Patriots, has found himself in hot water. The NFL player was charged this week with illegal sports betting for actions taken while he was a LSU college football team member.
Louisiana State Police have charged Boutte with computer fraud and gambling prohibited for persons under 21. The investigation is still taking place, and the player may be hit with even more charges in the future.
The Allegations Against Boutte
The Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division says that Boutte wagered on sports starting in April 2022 and ending in May 2023. He was 20 years old at the time. Investigators say that Boutte used an alias to avoid the age requirement of 21 to place a sports bet.
The alias allegedly connected to Boutte placed over 8,900 bets. At least 17 of those were wagers on NCAA football games and most involved LSU matchups. LSU became aware of the bets in July of last year when a former student-athlete was found guilty of improper sports gambling.
The NCAA does not allow players in the league to bet on any sports. There are various penalties for those who break the rules, with harsher punishment for those who bet on their school or team. Players are provided information on sports betting rules upon being placed on an NCAA sports team, so they know what not to do in order to avoid major issues.
Will It Affect Boutte’s NFL Career?
According to police, the wagers placed by Boutte continued until a week after he was signed by the Patriots in the NFL draft last year. The NFL allows players to wager on sports, but they cannot bet on games in the league.
The NFL has not commented on the matter, and Boutte has played just five games during his rookie season. The Patriots have commented, stating the team is aware that Boutte is cooperating with the police in Louisiana on the matter. The team has no plans to make additional comments at this time.
It seems appropriate to speculate that Boutte may face severe penalties due to the number of bets he placed. It was not a handful of wagers but thousands of bets during a short time frame. We should see in the coming weeks what the NCAA decides to do on the matter and if the player will also see his NFL career affected due to his actions within the past two years. He is not the first athlete do have run foul of rules regarding college betting with University of Iowa and Iowa State Athletes were fined last year.
