Kayshon Boutte’s underage gambling, computer fraud charges dropped

New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte can breathe a big sigh of relief after the state of Louisiana reportedly dropped charges of underage gambling and computer fraud against him, per Mark Reiss of ESPN.

“The state of Louisiana has dropped the underage gambling and computer fraud charges against Kayshon Boutte, the Patriots wide receiver’s attorney confirmed to ESPN.”

The former LSU Tigers star wideout was arrested back in January in Baton Rouge amid allegations that he made an online gaming account while he was still at LSU. Investigators of the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division were said to have discovered bets made by Kayshon Boutte in 2022 and 2023 when he was still 20 years old.

It was initially believed that through that betting account with a fake alias, Boutte managed to make almost 9,000 bets, including several made on college football games. Six of which were said to be games that LSU played.

Kayshon Boutte can now turn his entire attention to football

Boutte still has plenty of work to do in order to carve out a significant role on the Patriots offense, but getting over his legal woes is a giant step forward for the 22-year-old downfield weapon. Selected by the Patriots in the sixth round (187th overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft, Boutte barely made his presence felt on the field during his rookie season in the pros. In 2023, he appeared in only five games and recorded just 19 receiving yards on two receptions and seven targets. He showed up in 116 Patriots offensive snaps.

Boutte will need to have a solid training camp with the Patriots in order for him to strengthen his chances of securing a spot on the team’s roster after the final cut is made. He has years left on his deal with New England which will earn him $915,000 in 2024, $1.03 million in 2025, and $1.145 million in 2026 before becoming a free agent by the end of the 2026 NFL campaign.

A strong showing in last month’s Patriots minicamp by Boutte turned heads and offered a glimpse of his potential to make big plays for New England in 2024. If he could impress in New England’s training camp, he’ll have a sturdy ground to stand on with regards to his odds of notching a starting role in the coming season.

Social media reacts to Boutte’s charges being dropped

“The decision by the state of Louisiana to drop the charges against Kayshon Boutte may raise questions about the fairness of the legal system and whether similar leniency would be shown to individuals without his level of fame or influence,” said X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) user @zaqrider.

“Legendary level dodge,” commented @chris_ferland.

Meanwhile, @19_loading believes that Boutte is about to have a big 2024 NFL season now that the wide receiver can stop thinking about being in trouble with the law: “He’s about to ball out.”

From @BigBreezy29: “Need them wins, congrats Kayshon .”

“Big news for Boutte, who was a standout on the last day of #Patriots minicamp,” said @tkyles39.

Via Henry McKenna of FOX Sports: “Big news for the #Patriots WR, whose push for a roster spot will restart in training camp.”

“Big news for Boutte. Clears the way for him to compete for a roster spot in training camp. Finishing strong in the spring, but it’s going to be a bit of an uphill battle for him due to numbers at WR,” posted Patriots.com’s Evan Lazar.