Patriots Receiver Kayshon Boutte Arrested for Illegal Gambling
New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte was arrested for illegal online gambling after an investigation by Louisiana State Police. Boutte allegedly placed 8,927 illegal wagers, including six on Louisiana State University football games. LSU is Boutte’s alma mater, where he was drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 draft by the Patriots. He placed around 17 NCAA bets in total. None of the bets, however, have indicated that they were in LSU’s favor or not in their favor. Boutte placed the bets when he was under the age of 21, where in Louisiana and every other state except for four, you would have to be 21 years old.
He allegedly received more than $500,000 in winnings illegally. This occurred between April 6th, 2022, and May 7th, 2023. Boutte turned himself into the authorities in Baton Rouge. The NFL is conducting an investigation of its own. The Patriots have said they are aware of the matter.
The NFL in general has been plagued by sports betting issues, including the suspension of more than four players before the season began for violating league rules. The problem has also been seen in the NHL with Ottawa Senators Center Shane Pinto, who got a 41-game suspension due to gambling.
Historically, there has been an issue with sports betting, such as Pete Rose being banished from baseball for gambling and not in the Hall of Fame despite his historical statistics. The relationship between Casinos and sports until the change in attitudes towards betting, never mixed. Baseball Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle were controversially banned in 1980 and 1983 respectively, due to merely appearing at casinos in New Jersey, even though it was for signing autographs and not for betting, since sports betting was illegal in New Jersey until 2018. The two were reinstated in 1985, and neither were removed from the Hall of Fame. While Boutte probably won’t be banned from the NFL for good, he is not the first domino to fall due to betting.
