Gran Canaria betting shops are located all over the place: on the streets, and in most shopping centres. If you wanted to place a few bets while on holiday, the staff will be more than happy to help you out. Many of these get crowded in the evenings or night, and especially during holidays, when matches are being shown on the TV screens. Since the shops have limited machines (most have 2-4), it is better to place bets in the morning or afternoon.
Gran Canaria betting shops have big signs outside. Odds vary slightly from one to the other, but generally they're almost as good as the ones you will find online. Here are the main bookies that you will find on the island:
There are a few other bookies operating on the island, but the odds offered aren't as good as the ones mentioned above.
The first time you enter one of these shops, you will need to show your passport or national ID card, so that they can set you up. After that, every time you visit a store, you will need to request a PIN code from the staff, before you can place a bet. This is done to check if your under-age, or are on the self-exclusion gamblers list.
Machines accept Euro coins and notes, in all the major betting shops. For smaller bookies, you will have to give cash to the store manager and he/she will give you a voucher with a code to input in the machines.
Terminals are multi-lingual. Just ask the staff how to change the language from Spanish to English or whatever language you need.
When the staff sees that you're a regular bettor, they will offer you free water, coffee, or drinks (only in some of the stores).
If you want to place an acca (an accumulator bet with various selections), you need to do it fast. If the machines are left idle for more than a few minutes, they will reset everything. This means that you will need to start again from scratch. So, do the research before, and not in the middle of placing your bets. Try to do all the research and decision-making outside the shops, then write the bets on a piece of paper.
If you've been lucky, and got a winning ticket, all you have to do is cash it at the store. You can also use the winnings to bet again.
All winning bets under 1000 euros can be paid in cash. If you win more than that, you will have to wait a week, or more, for the amount to be directly put in your bank account.
If you are a tourist, it is recommended to divide your bet into 2 betting slips, if your total winning amount will be higher.
In certain shops, the machine that pays out winnings has a daily limit of 1.000 euros, per day, per betting slip.
If you're thinking of betting online, while in Gran Canaria (or anywhere in Spain), your bookie might stop you from doing so. Spanish laws only allow people to use Spanish bookies that pay tax within the country. If you use your mobile phone, and place your bets using the data plan, you will probably be O.K. Now, if you use the hotel's Wi-Fi, you might get flagged and not be able to place your bet at all. For this there are two alternatives: go to the offline betting stores, or use a VPN (a Virtual Private Network). If you're using your laptop, create a Wi-Fi hotspot using your mobile phone, and use the 4G data connection.
We hope this advice has been useful. Good luck in bashing the bookies!
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