Virtual Sports Betting - Learn How to Bet on Virtual Sports
A comprehensive betting guide to help beginners who are new to Virtual Sports Betting.
Craig Jones 
Dan Panzariu
Virtual sports offer all the same excitement and is one of the few types of sports betting still available. The quality is superb and you’ll find tons of sport to bet on across all major bookies from horse racing to football, motor racing, greyhounds and even track cycling.
Virtual Sports Betting Offers
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The popularity of virtual sports has grown in recent times as fantasy sports video games have become more sophisticated. This has resulted in the introduction of virtual betting, wherein you can create fantasy teams and place bets on computer-generated matches/leagues, covering sports like virtual football betting, horse racing, dog racing and tennis. Many providers even offer Virtual Sports free bets for regular players.
What is Virtual Sport Betting & How Does it Work?
Virtual Sports involves a selection of fixed odds events/games, the outcomes of which are decided either by the algorithms in a simulated environment (a video game, for example) or by a random number generator. All participants see the same schedules and outcomes.
The process involves placing bets on virtual (simulated) games that are set up by your chosen bookmaker. Outcomes are always algorithm-based, with the winner picked in an unbiased way. A virtual betting game can be played at all hours of the day, offering customers betting opportunities whenever they want.
What is the difference between Virtual Sports & Real Sports Events?
Virtual Sports differs from Real Sports Events in that the games/events are not being played out in the real world, and they are usually much shorter and quicker than their real-life equivalents. They are simulations which include visuals modelled on real-life stadiums. With graphics capabilities today, Virtual Sports can look and feel like you’re watching the real thing, often with commentary and highlight reels for an immersive experience. It can never match the excitement of a real event but offers customers the opportunity to get involved whenever they want.
Best Virtual Sports Betting Sites
There are many bookmakers that offer Virtual Sports betting, but the ones that have a reputation as industry leaders are Betfair, Betvictor and Bet365. The live stream features at these sites are impressive and immersive, and you can get involved whenever you like, with fully-featured odds and betting options to enjoy.
BetVictor Virtual Sports Betting
BetVictor offers plenty of Virtual Sports betting options covering a variety of sports including horse racing, dog racing, football, motor racing, speedway and even track cycling in the velodrome. BetVictor are one of the world leaders in virtual sports betting with 24/7 coverage and virtual races going off every few minutes.
Virtual horse races are displayed in stunning HD quality and come complete with some innovative touches such as real life stadiums, crowd sound effects and atmosphere that make the match or race you are watching feel just like the real thing.
If you are new to BetVictor you can also claim up to £30 in free bet bonuses when you register and stake just £5. (18+, Full T&C’s apply)
Betway Virtual Sports Betting
Betway Virtual Sports betting offers you 24/7 excitement across a wide variety of sports, with Football, Horse Racing, Cycling, Greyhounds, Motor Racing, Speedway and Trotting all available in stunning HD quality.
Prior to each Virtual Football Match, you can make your selections and place your bets using the odds display. The match then commences streaming a highlight reel of goalscoring opportunities, with the result shown on a Match Result Card and your bets settled accordingly.
Simulations of Virtual Sports Betting on Betway are scheduled every few minutes, so once one event finishes there will always be another available shortly thereafter.
A well-established and respected name in the betting industry, new customers with Betway can also claim up to £30 in a 100% matched free bet bonus on their first deposit (18+, Full T&C’s apply).
Bethard Virtual Sports Betting
With Bethard, Virtual Sports Betting is available 24/7, 365 days a year.
There’s a vast array of sports available to bet on, with Instant Virtual Football, Virtual Football, Instant Virtual Trotting, Virtual Racing Trotting, Instant Virtual Speedway, Virtual Racing Speedway, Instant Virtual Racing, Instant Virtual Horses, Virtual Racing Horses, Instant Virtual Greyhounds, Virtual Racing Greyhounds, Instant Virtual Cycling and Virtual Racing Cycling covering most of the bases.
Although Malta-based Bethard are a relatively new brand, they have made a splash in the betting market thanks to their alliance with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and for having been shortlisted in the EGR Operator Awards in 2017.
New customers with Bethard can claim a bonus of £5 in real cash for every £100 you wager anywhere on their site, up to £50 (18+, Full T&C’s apply).
Bet365 Virtual Sports Betting
As one would expect from one of the world’s most highly regarded bookmakers, bet365 offers a superb range of Virtual Sports Betting options, with Cricket, Darts, Bullet Horse Racing and Bullet Greyhounds being the latest to become available.
With bet365, a virtual betting event takes place every 3 minutes for Football and every 2 minutes for Horse Racing and Greyhounds. Bet365 also provide a wider variety of betting markets on their Virtual Sports Betting events than almost any of their industry rivals.
The minimum stake per bet is just £0.10 and there’s a maximum daily payout of £50,000 per customer.
New customers to bet365 who sign-up and deposit £5 or more to their account can claim a 100% matched qualifying deposit in Bet Credits of up to £100 (18+, Full T&C’s apply).
Opt in required. Min £20 on virtual sports. Free Bet valid for 3 days from acceptance. T&Cs apply. 18+ only. #BeGambleAware
ComeOn! Virtual Sports Betting
With ComeOn! Virtual Sports Betting, a virtual betting event takes place every 3 minutes for Football and every 2 minutes for Horse Racing and Greyhounds, so you’re never going to be waiting long for the next thrilling event to start.
There are always a decent number of bet types available for all three sports with ComeOn! too and events are shown with great HD graphics.
ComeOn! are a well established name on the betting scene. Launched in 2010 in Stockholm, ComeOn! are now based in East London.
ComeOn! look after their Virtual Sports Betting customers, with a Virtual Sports £10 Free Bet every month! Simply bet £10 on Virtual Sports and receive a £10 Free Bet on it (18+, Full T&C’s apply)!
Betfair Virtual Sports Betting
The Betfair Virtual Sports Betting offering covers a wide variety of sports, with Horse Racing (covering Flats, Jumps and Sprints), Greyhound Racing (6 Dog Flats and Jumps), Football, Speedway, Motor Racing, Cycling and Tennis all being available.
In terms of scheduling the Virtual Events for each sport will take place every 3 minutes, other than for Tennis, where the events will occur every 4 minutes.
Although not currently available, in the recent past Betfair customers invited by an email sent specifically to their account just needed to wager 3 x £10 bets to receive a £10 credit bonus for a Virtual Sports bet. As a bookmaker renowned for their promotions, it’s an offer that could well return (18+, Full T&C’s apply).
Coral Virtual Sports Betting
As you would expect from a long established household name in the betting industry, Coral Virtual Sports Betting features a wide spectrum of events delivered in high quality video streams.
There’s something to suit the requirements of the vast majority of punters with Coral Virtual Sports Betting, with customers being able to select from Horses, Greyhounds, Football, Tennis, Speedway, Motor Racing, Cycling, Darts and Boxing.
With all events supplied in fabulous HD and available every few minutes, there’s plenty to keep you interested.
With Coral sports betting, new customers making a Qualifying Bet of at least £5 win or £5 each-way, will have their account credited with 4 x £5 free bets (18+, Full T&C’s apply).
Which Virtual Sports are Available?
The most popular sports available at the best Virtual Betting sites are:
- Football
- Horse racing
- Dog racing
- Tennis
- Basketball.
There are sophisticated tools available for simulating these sports, and bookmakers deliver an engaging and enjoyable experience for customers placing bets on these Virtual Sports.
Virtual Sports Betting Popular Markets
- Win – bet on the final outcome of a virtual game/event.
- Forecast – this type of bet requires you to predict which selections will come 1st and 2nd in the correct order.
- Tricast – a common bet in horse/greyhound racing whereby the customer must make the correct selections for a finish in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
- Each way – divide your bet into a win bet and a place bet. Your selection must either win or finish in one of the predetermined places.
- Goals – bet on the first goal scorer, or on a specific player to score at some point in the fixture.
- Correct score – this requires you to guess the exact final score of a fixture.
- Match odds – choose to back or lay any of the listed possible outcomes of a match.
Virtual Sports Betting Tips
Virtual football betting tips – always follow a strategy in order to bet on Virtual Football games. For example, the ‘Weak Team Strategy’ involves betting on a team that has lost 7 games in a particular season. The ‘1.5 goals option’ is also quite effective, whereby one should start betting a smaller amount, and as the profit grows to 25%, increase that amount. Success with Virtual Football requires patience, so find a good strategy and stick to it.
Virtual horse racing tips – in Virtual Horse Racing there is no form to study, edges to spot or whispers to cash in on, so virtual racing tips are few and far between. The odds play an even more important part than in real life betting, and you need to carefully manage your risk-reward ratio to limit losses and maximise winnings.