Virtual sports

The world of virtual sports and virtual sports betting is a growing niche in numbers every day. There are several advantages to playing and betting on virtual sports, and we are going to dive in and take a peek at this growing entertainment pastime that also includes casino games and jackpot sports.

What are virtual sports?

These sports are computer simulations that are a reflection of real-life sports. The first one created was a fantasy baseball game in 1961 and only used 20K! It ran on an RNG (a random number generation) algorithm. This kind of algorithm ensures that there is not an unfair advantage for the house. We have come a long way since then. However, we still rely on the RNG algorithm to keep the odds the same for the house as it is for the gamer. Now we even have live casino games and jackpot games! Competition is fierce in these games, and the tension and excitement are the same as if you were at a live event. Virtual games are made up of:

• American football
• Horse racing
• Cycling, motorsports
• Soccer
• Dog racing
• Even darts have drawn an enormous following

Play is automated with virtual online sports and stats coded for each team or individual depending on what sport you are playing. Where sports go, so goes betting on the outcomes. Betting on virtual games can offer several betting options for perusal. You can bet on the overall result, the point spread, and placements of the top winners.

How to play virtual sports?

The easy way to learning to play these games is to watch a couple of youtube videos or search what kind of game you want to play. Some of the easy ones are slot games and other casino games. These videos place you in the casino sitting in a slots chair. Just pull the handle like you would if you were actually there. From there, most of the significant gaming/betting vendors have tutorials on their sites. Games in the virtual realm work a great deal like they do in person. The biggest drawback is that the learning curve is a bit unsettling. The stats you usually get to peruse for a good 20 minutes are boiled down to a few seconds. This puts a severe crimp in making an informed choice. On the other hand, just watching can teach you more quickly than reading it. Well, depending on how fast you can read and what your retention level is.

Virtual sports vs. Esports

The former takes place online and includes games such as "Fantasy Football." These sports games were set up to come as close to being physically present as possible to the sport. At the same time, not actually having to purchase tickets, find a parking place, and other annoyances of in-person involvement. This also lets you drink your beer cold and eat your hot dogs hot.

The latter is played online in an imaginary scenario with imaginary players. These are multiplayer games such as "Call of Duty," "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive" and "Fortnite" to name just a few. Fun fact - the first esport game was "Space Invaders". Multiplayer games can encompass players from all over the globe, with South Korea coming in with the most esport champions. When betting online, you can be a player in the game, bet on the game, or you can game and wager on the game outcome.

What are the advantages of betting on virtual sports and not on esports?

Virtual sports use algorithms exclusively. An algorithm can not be bribed to throw a match which makes it inherently more fair. The outcome is far less likely to be affected by manual manipulation. There is at least one human playing the game in esports, and it is possible, though not likely, for greed to interfere with fair play. When betting online, you can be a player in the game, bet on the game, or you can game and wager on the game outcome... and so can everybody else. You might try to bet against yourself and then deliberately lose. It is something to bare in mind when deciding what kind of virtual game betting you want to engage in. It is also noteworthy that gambling online is more tightly regulated. In real life, scams may slip unnoticed, whereas it is much more difficult to pull one off in the realm of online betting. Those pesky digital footprints can lead right up to an offender's doorstep.

Are virtual sports betting safe?

There are more and more bookies setting up shop to take your virtual sports betting money, so do your homework on anyone you are considering trusting your money with. As with anything, there are crooks trying to steal your money, credit, good name, etcetera. Sports betting providers should be vetted before use. Read ALL of the terms and conditions! You can not expect to have the virtual sports betting company taking your money to be the regulatory agency. That would be rather like asking the fox to guard the henhouse. With this in mind, "Operators should make sure that customers understand the distinction between esports, and virtual sports, whereby the outcome of the latter is determined by a random number generator." They should. That does not guarantee they will.