Welcome to the second in a series of articles looking at each of the Virtual Sports 
you can bet on at the popular Betway site initially, before we then move on to look at the Sports you can play at 10Bet. As with the first article, you will find all the information you need on the Virtual Sport right here including the different types of bets, as well as clear descriptions on how the Virtual Sport works online.
Last week we took a look at the Virtual Horse Racing offering at Betway and this week we are going to switch over to another popular form of race betting both in the Virtual world and in real life, Greyhounds.
Virtual Greyhounds
Info
- Time Between Events – 3 Minutes
- Number of Runners – 6 in each race
- Tracks : 1 – Critchley Park
- Types: Flat
- Time Split– 2 mins 30 seconds race preview/betting window – 30 seconds for the race & results.
Bets Available
- Race Winner
- Each Way Bet (1/4 the odds on the first two places)
- Top 2 Finish
- Forecast
- Tricast
- Combination Forecast
- Combination Tricast
Highlights
The highlights package for a typical Virtual Greyhounds race at Betway begins with the pre-race section where you can place your bets on the race. As you peruse the different betting options available (the multiple selection Forecast and Tricast bets only become available when you add them to your bet slip) you will see a preview of each of the six runners in the race play out on screen, with the software scrolling through each of the runners until the betting period, which usually lasts for around two minutes 30 seconds, ends.
During the betting preview to the race information on each of the greyhounds in the race is provided on screen. This displays the venue for the race, the sport, the event ID, the start time of the race and also the distance of the race.
For each of the competitors you will also be shown the greyhounds name and vest colours, their odds (in decimal form) and their current form. The form for the dogs is randomly created for each race and is not an indication of how this virtual dog has performed in virtual races so far.
In the top corner of the screen you will also find a timer which counts down the pre-race period when you can bet and when you get to around five seconds before the end of the betting period you will see the “No More Bets” sign displayed and the race will begin shortly thereafter.
How much of the race you actually see depends on the distance of the race. Longer races (over 480m) will see the final lap of the race displayed while races of 480m will show the whole race in full from the dogs coming out of the traps and chasing the hare.
The graphics for this section are excellent and very realistic, even down to the texture of the track, the shadows of the dogs under the floodlights and the movement of the hair. Added realism comes in the addition of advertisement hoardings around the track, crowd noise and of course the commentary.
The commentary is similar to that for the Horse Racing with the commentator using a stock selection of phrases and comments based on the number of the competitor to commentate on the race. After a while though, these do tend to get a little repetitive.
During the race, you can see how each of the greyhounds stands in the race by how their vests line up at the bottom of the screen (the leading greyhound is shown on the right). To help with this the name of the top three greyhounds in the race is displayed under their vests in what is a nice touch. You can also see exactly where the greyhounds are on the track on the map of the circuit which turns yellow as the dogs race around the track.
Following the end of the race, the commentator will run through the top three places in the race and then these are displayed, along with the greyhound name and odds, together with the result of the Forecast bet for a few seconds following the race. Once this is completed a race is over and a new race begins with the betting phase.
Who will Virtual Greyhounds appeal to?
Obviously, punters that enjoy greyhound racing will find plenty to enjoy with Virtual Greyhounds as the virtual sport is generally a very good replica of the original sport. However, the random nature of the dogs form and the events does make it more tricky to predict a winner than in a real race where you know the favourite has a very solid chance of success and where form is based on real race performances, rather than a random number generator.
What is good is that you can bet on up to 14 races at any one time as the runners in 14 events are shown and you can see them by clicking on the time for a race and selecting from the options available for each. This allows you to put multiple bets on at once, then leave the Virtual Greyhound console to do something else and you can check back later to see how your selections performed.
Vitrual Greyhounds isn’t quite so volatile as Virtual Motor Sports or Virtual Horse Racing and so it will appeal to punters that like to back generally lower odds options but perhaps enjoy a bit more success when betting on Virtual Sports. It isn’t an ideal choice for longer odds punters, unless you elect to use the Forecast and Tricast options available for each race.
What are my chances of winning at Virtual Greyhounds compared to other Virtual Sports?
In comparison to most other Virtual Sports, particularly the race-based games, Virtual Greyhounds offers punters a decent chance of winning, primarily because each of the races has only six possible winners. That gives you a better chance compared to other Virtual race events as there are more competitors in these. By using the odds to guide you to the more likely winners, you can also give yourself a greater chance of winning more often, but it should be remembered that there is a high random factor involved in generating these results which does result in some longer odds winners.
