Everything You Need To Know About Virtual Sports Betting…And More

Online sports betting is evolving. Long gone are the times when you would have a selection of sporting events to bet on from your choice of leading sportsbooks.

Nowadays, you can bet on a myriad of other things, including politics, musical events, esports betting and now the strange new world of virtual sports.

The name may sound like something from a science-fiction novel. But in truth virtual sports is one of the speediest and simplest forms of betting you can enjoy – if you know-how.

In this article, we’ll tell you everything that you will ever need to know about this type of betting. We’ll also answer some of the most common questions about virtual sports.

And finally, we’ll give you some great pointers on which bookmaking sites to try if you want to give this type of wagering a go.

Let’s begin though by gaining a clear understanding of what a virtual sport is and what types of sport you can find at the top online bookmakers, such as Bet365 Sport.

What is virtual sports betting?

Virtual sports are computer programmes that are designed to rreplicate the events of a particular sporting event, but with a certain level of randomness built into them to ensure that the results each time differ.

Alongside the processing of the actual sporting event, virtual sports also offers in conjunction with this a number of betting markets on that virtual sporting event.

The odds offered on these markets are based upon the relative strength of the participants competing. These can be weighted within the game to produce favourites and outsiders.

The aim is to replicate a number of actual sports betting markets but on this entirely fictional event.

Punters can then place bets on these markets at the stated odds during the first phase of a virtual sports event, which is the betting period. This is a period (usually of around 1-2 minutes) where punters can place bets on the event from the markets shown.

Once the betting period ends, then the software kicks into the simulation mode where the virtual sports event is played out in front of you. This usually lasts between a minute to a minute and thirty seconds in total.

Most top bookmaking sites that offer virtual sport want a single event including the betting period and the simulation, to last around three minutes in total.

At the completion of a virtual sports event, the results of the event are shown and the winning bets from each of the available markets are listed. After a short summary page is displayed of these results, a new virtual sports event then starts once again with the betting phase.

What virtual sports are offered by online bookmakers?

In truth, the types of virtual sports on offer at a bookmaker depends entirely on which bookmaker you would like to bet with. Some sports betting sites offer a wider choice of virtual sports to pick from, others offer a smaller number.

We have outlined the virtual sports you can bet on at each of our outstanding trio of bookmakers below:

• Bet365 Sport – Virtual Horse Racing, Virtual Greyhounds, Virtual Motors (Cars and Speedway), Virtual Soccer, Virtual Cycling, Virtual Tennis, Virtual Trotting
• 10Bet – Virtual Football, Virtual Horse Racing, Virtual Greyhounds
• Betway – Top-notch Virtual Football Betting

As you can see, football, horse racing and Greyhound racing do tend to be the most popular virtual sports. But some sites, like Bet365, also offer a wide range of other virtual sports to bet on too.

How are the odds for each virtual sports event worked out?

The odds on each market offered for virtual sports are worked out in exactly the same way as the odds on markets in real life events are decided. This is by using a number of factors, each of which affects the odds offered one way or the other.

Of course, in a real life event, it is possible to do this as you have an understanding of the mechanics of the game and the relative strength of each of the competitors involved through past performances.

This isn’t possible in virtual sports. So what happens is that each of the competitors is weighted by the software, so that odds can be worked out.

This means you will still have favourites in virtual sports, as well as outsiders and you will have matches between one competitor who is far stronger than the other, as well as events where both competitors are almost equal in terms of strength. Just as you would in the real world of sport.

By weighting competitors in events, regardless of how many competitors there are, the software can then work out the odds for each betting market and offer them to the punters.

Are virtual sports fair?

Of course, the question raised by this is if software is being used to run virtual sports entirely, what is stopping sites making sure that they never lose on these sports and that their winnings are guaranteed to be high by ensuring that in the main, punters bets will lose?

Well, this is counter-productive for bookmaking sites in many ways. Firstly, all software has to be tested and regulated to ensure it meets fair gaming restrictions. If it does not, then the software will not be licensed and companies won’t be allowed to offer it on their site.

Secondly, punters are shrewd. If a virtual sport shows signs of only favouring the bookmaker rather than the player, then players will not bet on it. In addition to losing revenue, that bookmaking site will also earn themselves a poor reputation amongst punters very quickly. Again this has a negative impact on the bookmaker.

In short, a bookie has so much to lose if they don’t offer fair games that they will go out of their way to ensure all their virtual sports services offer punters a fair and equal chance of winning the bet as they would if they had bet on a real life event.

How do I place a bet on virtual sports?

Placing a bet on virtual sports is extremely simple. All you do (on most sites) is click on the odds of the selection you wish to back and enter your stake. This is just as you would do when placing any other form of bet on the site.

The only proviso to remember here is that you may only have a minute or so to place your bets on that event. So you may need to be speedy when it comes to selecting the bets and placing them.

When will I receive any winnings I am owed from a virtual sports bet?

At the end of a virtual sports event, the results of that event are shown and all the winning bets from each of the available markets are summarised.

If you are one of the lucky players to have placed a winning bet on that event, then you should be paid out immediately after the event completes.

When is virtual sports betting available?

The great thing about virtual sports is because they are computer software, they are online and available to bet on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

What is the best virtual sports betting site?

There’s no better site to start enjoying virtual sports betting at than Bet365 Sport. Not only does it offer an outstanding range of virtual sports to pick from, but each sport has a number of different markets you can back.

The company enjoys a superb reputation online and is one of the largest online bookmaking sites in the world today.

Are virtual sports different to esports?

Yes. Virtual sports are sporting simulations run by software that allows punters to bet on the outcome of the simulated event.

Esports are software games that are played by individuals or teams of individual players. They compete against each other through the software and people can bet on the outcome.

The main difference between the two is that while both use software as their medium, virtual sports has no human intervention in an event. In esports, players play the software to defeat each other and generate betting results that way.

Now that you understand everything you need to know about virtual sports, why not head on over and give them a try?

Remember, if you haven’t joined a sports betting site yet, you can qualify for an outstanding new player offer at Bet365 Sport. And there are similar offers available on 10Bet for new players.