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New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte may well have played in his last NFL game for a long while.
Boutte was arrested on Thursday for charges related to illegal online gambling.
Many of the bets took place while Boutte was a college player at LSU, and reports claim that Boutte bet close to 9,000 times from 4/22 to 5/23,
For those of you who are not math majors, that works out just under SEVEN-HUNDRED bets per month. Or, put differently, around 23 bets per day.
That alone is an issue. But there’s even more to the story. Boutte reportedly reportedly placed most of those bets while he was under the age of 21 while using a fake identity. He turned himself in on charges of Computer Fraud (felony) and Gaming Prohibited for Persons under 21 (misdemeanor).
“Some of the alleged illegal gaming took place while he was an LSU player, investigators allege,” Baton Rouge news station WAFB-TV’s Scottie Hunter wrote Thursday. “However, a source familiar with the case said Boutte never bet ‘against himself’ and his actions in LSU games. In other words, he is not accused of throwing a game.”
Boutte’s bets reportedly came prior to his time with the New England Patriots. So it’s unclear if he’s likely to face further punishment from the NFL.
Boutte initially announced his intentions to return to LSU for the 2023 season after a lackluster 2022 campaign. But he ultimately reversed course and the Patriots selected him in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft with the 187th overall pick.
Which raises several questions.
Did Boutte know he was going to get in trouble? Did the Tigers know about his gambling habits? How did New England fail to find out about it?
Either way, Boutte now faces some serious charges, and an apparent gambling problem to deal with as well.