State prosecutors drop gambling charges against former LSU receiver Kayshon Boutte – WBRZ

BATON ROUGE Charges have been dropped against former LSU football player Kayshon Boutte in an illegal gambling and computer fraud case, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Boutte, the 22-year-old Patriots wide receiver, was arrested by Louisiana State Police in January. State Police alleged that Boutte lied about his age and placed 9,000 illegal wagers before he turned 21 while he was playing at LSU. Arrest records alleged that Boutte placed multiple bets on himself, including on the 2022 kickoff game between LSU and Florida State.

State prosecutors decided to drop the charges after further examination and actions by Boutte to ban himself from further gambling.

"We have...confirmed that he did not financially benefit from his actions as an LSU football player; he did not bet against himself or his team," First Assistant District Attorney for the 19th Judicial District Tracey Barbera said. "We do not believe a felony prosecution is appropriate."

State prosecutors did say that there was "undisputed evidence that Kayshon Boutte was under the age of 21 when he made these sports wager, (but) no one suffered any financial loss as a result of his conduct."

Boutte, who was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round after serving as the Tigers second-leading receiver during the 2022 season with 538 yards in 11 games, completed a gambling awareness program and executed self-ban agreements in Massachusetts as well as with FanDuel and BET99, Barbera said.

Since Boutte's arrest, multiple laws have been put in place to crack down on sports betting in the state.

On Aug. 1, proposition bets will be removed from the Official Sports Betting Catalog. Additionally, a law passed in the 2024 legislative session criminalizes sports wagering by a prohibited player.

According to The Associated Press, Boutte was in attendance during the Patriots offseason working program this spring. Coach Jerod Mayo said in May that they were waiting to see what, if anything, the NFL had to say about his case.

Right now, he is out here. We will wait to hear from the league going forward, but hes out here, Mayo said. He is doing a good job for us.

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State prosecutors drop gambling charges against former LSU receiver Kayshon Boutte - WBRZ