On Tuesday morning, Juan Gayá, a popular 40-year-old Spanish sports betting consultant, was arrested at his home in Santa Eugènia, Mallorca, on charges of belonging to a criminal organization and money laundering. The operation was carried out by the Central Brigade of Economic Crimes of the National Police in Madrid and was declared secret. Gayá strongly resisted arrest and caused injuries to some of the officers involved in the operation. The arrested man specialized in sports betting in lower leagues, particularly in the Spanish Segunda B and Tercera División soccer leagues, and had great influence over legions of bettors.
Sources close to the investigation explain that a group of National Police agents were deployed in the vicinity of Gayá’s house in Santa Eugènia this morning. Shortly thereafter, they broke into the house to arrest the sports betting consultant, who attempted to flee the scene. However, he was intercepted by the agents, who suffered injuries due to his resistance. The operation was carried out in other parts of the country simultaneously, and more people were arrested, although no further details have been released. The case is investigating an alleged money laundering network in which Gayá would be one of the main parties involved. Once arrested, he was taken to the cells of the National Police Station in Palma and was released with charges on Wednesday night, according to sources close to the investigation.
Gayá is one of the best known sports betting advisors in Spain. He has several channels on Telegram and a YouTube platform where he advises his followers on where and how to bet. On his Twitter profile, which has almost 85,000 followers, he defines himself as “the most followed sports forecaster in Europe” and an expert in Segunda B and Tercera División soccer. It is common to see his publications boasting about his lifestyle, showing off his house or the latest model of car he has acquired.
Just a month ago, Juan Gayá was the protagonist of a program of La Sexta in which his high standard of living and the huge villa in which he has been arrested this Tuesday (which he boasted of having paid) were shown. In that Research Team program, he identified himself more as a stockbroker than a betting advisor. “People know more about the broker, but the tipster is the one who does the same thing, but instead of the stock market, he talks about soccer, tennis, basketball or any sporting event. I have 300,000 followers and when I give a bet, 300,000 people can see it,” he said, adding that they are brokers because they know “more than the people who bet”.