Commercial Information
If you sign up for an account through one of the links on this page we may receive a commission from them for this. This does not effect our rankings and there are some sites we do not receive a commission from. All our reviews are independently written. you can read our full affiliate policy below.
18+ | commercial content | begambleaware.org
Note: 18+ Only, terms and conditions apply to all offers, subject to withdrawal at any time. For help and advice on responsible gambling please see begambleaware.org.
You may have seen a virtual sports tab on your betting app and wondered what they are. I’ve tested them on many apps over the years and whilst they are not my personal choice for betting, they remain a popular style for some punters.
What is Virtual Sports Betting
Virtual sports are pre-set video games you can bet on, and you can watch the race or highlights. Virtual sports start every few minutes and feature stats and betting markets.
Virtual Sports Betting Apps
All the following betting apps offer virtual sports betting
- Bet365
- Bet Victor
- William Hill
- Betfair
- BetFred
- Coral
- Ladbrokes
- Betway
- 888sport
- Unibet
- 10bet
You can usually find these events in the menu under virtual. Once there, you can tab between sports to see the events about to start.
How To Bet On Virtual Sports
Virtual sports are pre-set games you can bet on, and you can watch the race or highlights. Virtual sports start every few minutes and come back with stats and markets to bet on.
Example
This example is from the Betvictor sports app. Virtual sports betting is available in the left-hand menu.
Across the top white bar, you can scroll through the upcoming events on offer. The main screen is always showing the latest race or match, so you get a good idea of what you are watching. You can access any of the sports without being logged in or placing a bet.
Once you select an event, you can watch it full screen in landscape mode, as shown below –
On the standard portrait view, you can see the markets below the event and bet from here, and you would usually tap the odds> betslip> enter stake> place bet. We have not seen any cash-out options on virtual sports betting.
All events are pre-set and recorded by the software provider, and procedures are in place to ensure the games are fair. You get full commentary for each event as you watch. If you don’t watch the event, you can still go into your betting history to see the outcome of your bet and the final result in most cases.
How Does Virtual Sports Betting Work?
Virtual sports betting is a form of gambling where you bet on computer-generated sporting events that simulate real matches or races. Each event is determined by a random number generator (RNG) to ensure fairness and unpredictability.
Virtual sports
You can place bets just like you would on live sports — predicting outcomes such as winners, scores, or race positions — but the events are fully virtual and available 24/7.
Unlike traditional sports betting, virtual sports offer fewer betting markets, since there are no real players, live statistics, or bet builders. These simulations typically include football, horse racing, greyhound racing, and more, providing quick results and continuous action.
Key Points:
-
Based on computer-generated events, not real matches.
-
Certified RNGs determine outcomes for fairness.
-
Markets are limited compared to live sports betting.
-
Events run every few minutes and are always available.
What Virtual Sports Can You Bet On?
Other virtual sports you can bet on (varies by bookmaker)
- Football
- Horse racing
- Basketball
- Cycling – Single races
- Greyhound racing – Jump racing and 6 dog flat racing
- Motor Sports – Single races
- American Football
- Speedway
- Trotting
- Darts
- Tennis
These all follow the same format and more are available at the busier times of evenings and weekends.
Virtual football betting
Virtual football is one of the most popular virtual sports. It has a similarity to FIFA when watching it, which makes it feel more familiar than, say, horse racing. Almost every app has virtual football betting built in, and it’s usually at the international level.
Here is how the match looks
Some games start every couple of minutes, and you’ll get stats to review before each game. The choice of markets is a lot more limited compared to standard football betting. You will usually find the standard home and away markets as well as the goals markets.
Here’s how the pre-game markets look –
Once the match starts you will get highlights of the match. These are the goals and big changes as well as any potential red cards. They usually last 2-3 minutes and in-play betting and cash out is not an option with most.
We found the following markets on offer
- Match odds (home, away, draw)
- Under or over 1.5 goals and 2.5 goals
- Total number of goals (some apps call this exact goals)
- Correct score
- Double chance (home and draw, away and draw or home and away)
Virtual horse racing betting
Horse race betting follows a similar flow to football betting. There are races going off on regular occasions and a range of pre-race betting markets. You do not get the movement of odds that you usually get on a “real” race.
You do still get to read the virtual form of each of the horses as you usually would. Once the race is in running you get to see the full race as you would usually. Here is how the races look –
Once the race is over you get the official results and all bets are settled. I’ve watched a good few races and I’m yet to see a photo finish but they may happen.
We found the following types of races on offer –
- Flat racing
- Jumps racing
- Sprint racing
Here are the markets we found on offer –
- Win
- Forecast/ tricast
- Each way betting (places vary depending on race size)
Virtual basketball betting
Basketball betting looks just like NBA on the PlayStation or Xbox. You can bet on the winner of the match, total points, and a handicap spread. Here is how it looks –
Here, like in virtual football, you just get highlights of the match rather than the full event.
Winning on virtual sports betting is the same as standard betting. You place your bets before the game and if they win you get your return.
Virtual football betting works by allowing you to bet on a computer-generated football match. You can bet on selected markets and then watch the match highlights to see if you win.
No, we have not found any betting apps that offer cash outs on virtual sports betting. Due to the pre-recorded highlights of the event, there would not be enough time to cash out.
The outcomes in virtual sports betting are done by a random number-generating software.
Neil Tomkinson
January 28, 2025
Simon Taylor
April 23, 2024
Simon Taylor
November 11, 2022
Neil Tomkinson
October 11, 2022
Simon Taylor
October 5, 2022