In this first in a series of articles, we are going to take a look at each of the different Virtual Sports offerings
you can find at Betway and then we will move on to 10Bet. We will examine the key aspects of each. Virtual Sport you can find at each site and provide you with all the information that you need in order to decide whether this is the Virtual Sport to bet on for you.
We are going to go through the seven different Virtual Sports available at Betway, before moving onto another of our partner sites 10Bet, to show you what is on offer there. Let’s begin now with a look at arguably the most popular of all Virtual Sports, Virtual Horse Racing.
Betway Virtual Horse Racing
Info
- Time Between Events – 3 Minutes
- Number of Runners – Between 8 and 16 (randomly selected for each race)
- Tracks : 3 – Doneralle, Hempstead Plains, Smithfield
- Types: National Hunt & Flat Racing
- Time Split– 2 mins race preview/betting window – 1 minute for the race & results.
Bets Available
- Race Winner
- Each Way Bet (1/5 odds on first 3 places, increasing to first 4 places for races with 16 runners))
- Top 2 Finish
- Top 3 Finish (increased to Top 4 Finish for races with 16 runners)
- Forecast
- Tricast
- Reverse Forecast
- Combination Forecast
- Combination Tricast
Highlights
The highlights package is excellent on Betway for horse racing as you get to see a preview of the horses in the parade ring ahead of the race (while the betting part of the event is in play). There is a countdown on display in the top right hand corner of the screen which counts down the amount of time you have until the race starts and the betting period ends.
Each of the runners has some information provided about them to add to the realism of the event, although this information is entirely generated at random. You can see the horses name, its odds, its form, the length of the race (in metres) and number of runners as well as the jockey’s silks shown for each of the runners before the race gets underway. The Event ID of the race is also displayed along with the start time of the race.
The graphics are excellent with high quality textures giving the turf, horse and jockey a very realistic appearance and the addition of advertisements around the track for Betway also enhance the visuals and make you feel like you are watching a race.
The audio of the event is very good too with a thundering hooves background along with the distant noise 
of the on course commentator in the background. The main commentator uses numbers rather than horse names to identify the runners and it is somewhat repetitive after you have watched a few races.
You can view the race in full and in the bottom right corner of the screen the map of the course is shown. This can be curved race, or in some cases, it can be a straight sprint depending on the race. As the horses race around the circuit, the map changes colour to yellow to show how far the horses have progressed around the track.
In addition to this, the numbers of each of the runners, together with their colours, is displayed at the foot of the screen and these will change order to show you clearly the positions of each of the runners taking part in the race. However, it is worth noting that the leader of the race is displayed on the right hand side of the screen, with the positions of the horses moving backwards from that to the left.
At the end of the race, the final result of the race is shown, complete with the returns for each of the horses in the top three or four positions.
Results of the Tricast and Forecast bets are also shown for punters that have decided to place multiple selection bets on the race.
Who will Virtual Horse Racing betting appeal to?
The way that Virtual Sports has been modeled means that this is a form of betting that is going to appeal to punters who enjoy betting on the horses in real life. However, there is a proviso in that as if you are a punter who takes great stock in studying the form of a horse, seeing the trainer and jockey details and perhaps even going as far as studying the breeding of a horse running in the race, then you will find the generated information of little use to you.
As such, these punters may find the more variable nature of Virtual Racing a little less appealing than the real thing, although you still get enough favorite and short price winners to make it worthwhile having a bet on it.
Virtual Horse Racing will definitely appeal to fans of slots and scratchcard games as no prior knowledge of the sport is required for you to enjoy a bet. All you need to do is make your selection, enter your stake and then place the bet. That means anybody without extensive horse racing knowledge is not at a disadvantage when they play.
Where these players may struggle a little may be in the different types of bet available, although it is relatively easy to follow that to increase the odds of a payout, you can back a runner finishing in the top three or four, or the top two, rather than backing it to win.
Longer odds punters will also find Virtual Horse Racing one of the better virtuals on offer as the range of runners in a race and the fact that you can elect to bet on longer odds options such as Forecast and Tricast bets, means that you can place bets that are much longer odds than you would find on some other Virtual Sports.
What are my chances of winning at Virtual Horses compared to other Virtual Sports?
Given that there are a comparatively large number of runners in Virtual Horse Racing compared to other Virtual race events, your chances of picking a winner are probably slimmer than other events. However, if you like the thrill of less frequent, longer odds wins, then Virtual Horses is a great choice for you.
