Former LSU Player Arrested Over Sports Betting In Puzzling Way

It was announced on Thursday that a former LSU Wide Reciever was arrested and facing charges for sports gambling. But the story behind it is even more puzzling.

Boutte was a student at New Iberia, Louisiana's Westgate High School. Boutte was one of LSU's best receivers going into his true freshman season in 2020 when Ja'Marr Chase decided to forego the season to prepare for the NFL Draft in 2021. When Terrace Marshall Jr. also decided not to play, he emerged as the top receiver.

With 14 receptions for 308 yards and three receiving touchdowns in the 2020 game against Ole Miss, he set a Southeastern Conference record for most receiving yards in a game. He certainly appeared to have a ton of upside.

While still a player at LSU, former wide receiver Kayshon Boutte used a fictitious account to make thousands of illegal sports bets, some of which were on the Tigers and Boutte personally, according to Louisiana State Police on Thursday.

In Baton Rouge, Boutte was charged with computer fraud, a felony, and gambling forbidden by under-21, a misdemeanor.

So you would think if Boutte was going to do it, he would at least use a random name, right? RIGHT? NOPE! According to an affidavit, the account with the login "Kayshonboutte01" started receiving deposits from that credit card in January along with hundreds of transactions from another credit card that identified Boutte as the payer.

LSU released a statement today on the incident.

“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. 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.” - LSU

Here is the statement that was released from the Louisiana State Police:

In July of 2023, Investigators assigned to the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division were contacted by an online gambling company regarding sports wagers made by a prohibited person. Investigators learned that former Louisiana State University (LSU) football player, 21-year-old Kayshon Boutte of Baton Rouge, participated in sports gambling from April 6, 2022, until May 7, 2023, when he was 20 years old. During this period, Boutte used an alias to circumvent the legal age 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. Of the 8,900 wagers, at least seventeen were on National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football games, with at least six of those wagers on LSU football.

 

On January 18, 2024, an arrest warrant was signed through the 19th Judicial District Court, charging Boutte with L.R.S. 14:73.5 – Computer Fraud (Felony – One Count) and L.R.S. 27:260 – Gaming Prohibited for Persons Under 21 (Misdemeanor – One Count). On January 25, 2024, Boutte was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish jail on the aforementioned charges. This investigation is still ongoing, and additional charges may be forthcoming.

 

The Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division, in conjunction with the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, will continue to work to ensure the integrity of gaming activities in Louisiana. Anyone wishing to report illegal gaming activity is encouraged to contact the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division. Contact information may be found online at https://www.lsp.org/gaming-enforcement-division/.