Virtual Sports Betting: What is it and is it worth trying?

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Try Virtual Sports!

Gambling operators are constantly looking for new ways to entertain customers with different ways to wager. In recent years, virtual sports betting has been the hot ticket. Operators have been quietly developing their virtual sports options to go alongside real-world sports betting and casino games. Now, virtual sports have really taken off thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you have never looked at virtual sports betting before, now could be the time to try something new. Virtual sports are filling the void left by empty stadiums and vacant playing fields at a time when no one really seems to know if the world will ever get back to normal. Virtual Sports Betting is U.S. player friendly, try it now.

Virtual Sports: The basics

Let us start with the basics of virtual sports. The sports part of the equation should be obvious. As for them being virtual, this is accomplished through computer software. Virtual sports can take on multiple forms depending on the software that runs individual events.

The early days of virtual sports offered no actual matches or games to watch. Matches were programmed into the software along with the data, statistics, and algorithms necessary to simulate the event. Gamblers could place wagers on the events just as they would live sports. Then the event was simulated over a few minutes. Winner and loser would be decided, and a table of stats would be populated.

These early games were all text-based; there were no visuals. More recently however, virtual sports operations have begun making the transition to streaming graphical simulations of the sporting events. So just like you might play soccer on your game console, simulated games are being played and streamed online. Gamblers can now place their bets and watch the action as it unfolds.

Deciding game outcomes

Outcomes in the virtual sports world are determined by computer software. Unlike video slots and table games however, outcomes are not the result of chance alone. That's because software makers try to make the games as realistic as possible. They utilize tons of real-world data and computerized models to make the games look and feel like real life.

This suggests that a top-five soccer team is going to perform better against a lower tier team in the virtual world, just as in the real world. It suggests that superstar players are still going to be above the curve. This is not to say that upsets and surprises do not exist in virtual sports. They do, just as they do in the real world. It is just that real-world data is used to create the models that power virtual sports.

It's also important to note that simulating everything prevents a single human player from interfering. If you had two players going head-to-head for example, their individual levels of skill and knowledge would play a bigger role in the outcome. If you had one player competing against the computer, you would have another dynamic entirely.

To keep things fair and as realistic as possible, virtual sporting events are simulated entirely by computers. You can place your bets on a wide variety of virtual sports 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

What you can bet on

Despite the relative newness of virtual sports betting, there are already quite a few types of events you can bet on. One of the most popular in Europe is soccer. Growing numbers of sports betting operations are simulating matches from leagues all across the globe. You have your major leagues and your not-so-major leagues. There are one-off matches, league play, championship games, and even soccer tournaments.

If American football is more your thing, you will find it is an option on a growing number of virtual sports betting sites where you can bet on simulated NFL and college games. Of course, there is more. Here is an abbreviated list of the other types of sporting events on offer:

  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • Tennis
  • Rugby
  • Horse Racing
  • Harness Racing
  • Dog Racing
  • Motorsports
  • Cycling
  • Cricket

Again, this is just a partial list. The number of possible events seems to be growing by the day. Also note that virtual sports betting outlets don't all carry the same sports and events. You might have one site that offers American football and another that does not. A third site might offer darts and cycling but not rugby. It is a mixed bag based on demand.

Benefits of Virtual Sports Betting

Virtual sports betting offers yet another avenue to keep the entertainment value of gambling alive. But perhaps you're wondering if it's worth trying yourself. In a word, yes. There are lots of benefits that come with the virtual sports world, benefits that are not necessarily available via live sports or casino games.

Legal in more jurisdictions

To start with, there are a number of jurisdictions that do not allow betting on live sports of any kind. Other jurisdictions allow live sports betting, but it is very restricted. It turns out that virtual sports betting is different. It is legal in many more jurisdictions for the simple fact that virtual sports are not real. Take the U.S., for example.

Most kinds of betting on live sports is still banned in the U.S. As the thinking goes, allowing live sports wagering is an invitation to corruption. Matches and games are subject to being thrown one way or the other to benefit influential gamblers. So to avoid this, the U.S. severely restricts live sports betting.

Virtual sports betting is different. While it is still not entirely legal all across the U.S., more states are relaxing their restrictions with the understanding that betting has no result on the outcome. A computer simulation cannot be rigged the same way a live event can. Therefore, it is much more difficult to get away with match fixing.

Around-the-clock availability

Live sports betting is no doubt entertaining. However, it is also limited by scheduling. Football matches are only played at certain times and on certain days. Thus, there are not always matches for players to gamble on. Not so with virtual sports betting.

Virtual sports are not tied to a calendar or daily time schedule. They can be staged around-the-clock, and they are. Line up a couple of virtual sports betting sites you enjoy playing at and you will discover there is always an event waiting for your wager.

Simulation speed

Another benefit of virtual sports is speed. In other words, some sites dispense with the real-time simulations and game streams to allow computer software to do what it does in just a couple of minutes. So maybe you want to place a few bets but you don't want to sit through a lengthy streaming session. Choose one of the instant games instead.

Even when events are graphically simulated and streamed, they take less time to complete than live events. There are no commercial interruptions. Downtime between play is eliminated or reduced. The time spent treating injured players is next to nothing.

Baseball is a good example of how much time can be saved. A live baseball game takes between three and four hours to play. A fully simulated virtual game can be completed in just over an hour. Remove the graphical stream and a computer can simulate a complete game in under three minutes.

More surprises

Some sports junkies find virtual sports more entertaining in the sense that there are more surprises. Those surprises are found in the limited randomness used to determine virtual sports outcomes.

Yes, real-world data and realistic models drive virtual sports games. But as a match is being played out, software must rely on a certain amount of randomness to determine how things unfold. For example, software has to determine where a baseball goes after it flies off a bat. Software has to determine whether basketball will bounce off the rim or swish through the hoop.

These little details cannot be predicted. Moreover, changes in just one or two of the details can change the outcome of a match. This tends toward more surprises in the virtual world than you get in the real world. Blackpool might not stand a chance against Liverpool in the real world, but anything's possible in the virtual world.

Data counts for more

If you are the kind of gambler who thrives on data, you will find that virtual sports betting is right up your alley. Remember that virtual sports is data driven. As such, you can study the data yourself in order to inform your betting decisions. The data means more in the virtual world than it does in live sports.

This is why so many virtual sports betting experts advise paying attention to what bookmakers are saying. They suggest ingesting as much data as possible. Even comparing data from event-to-event can help gamblers better understand how to place their bets on future events.

While the world wrestles with the COVID-19 pandemic, real-world sports are all but nonexistent. That is likely to change as spring turns in the summer, but there is little to pay attention to now. Enter virtual sports. If you are a major fan of live sports betting, virtual sports betting makes a great substitute. You might even enjoy it so much that you continue betting on virtual events long after live events restart.

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Players from Canada, Latin America and India

Players from Canada can play Virtual Sports here.

Players from LATAM countries can play Virtual Sports here.

Players from India can play Virtual Sports here.

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