[toc]Paddy Power, along with the likes of SkyBet and Bet365 Sport, are now offering a range of Virtual Sports services to their customers. What are these exactly and are they worth betting on?
In this article, we take a look at precisely what Virtual Sports you can bet on at Paddy Power, what markets are available and how the Virtual Sports actually work. Click on the link to get the latest Paddy Power free bet offer to sign up and start betting on Virtual Sports, as well as real life ones, today.
What are Virtual Sports?
Virtual Sports are a number of computer programs that have been designed to be available on sports betting sites 24/7, 365 days a year. What they are a self-contained betting generators, where the software will offer a number of betting markets on a Virtual Sport and accept bets on them.
After the betting period has finished (which usually lasts around a minute or so), the software then switches to presentation mode, where it will simulate the sporting event on screen for you, hence the term “virtual” sport. You can then watch your chosen sports event unfold and thus, see how your bet performs.
After the sporting event has been played to a conclusion, the winning bets from the markets available are displayed, any winning bets are paid out and then a new event opens with the betting markets on the next event being made available for the punter to bet on.
Typically, a Virtual Sport event takes around three minutes to run to completion, from the opening of the betting market, to the conclusion of the Virtual sports event.
Are Virtual Sports based on real teams/players?
This depends on what you mean by “based on”. If you mean are the competitors in Virtual Sports based on real life people and have the same characteristics and abilities as real life people or teams, then no, virtual sports are not based on real teams or individuals.
However, in the Virtual Football option, you will find some of the team names for domestic matches are based loosely on real life teams, but perhaps with a name change. Manchester Reds, for example, are based on Manchester United, but only in the name alone.
Are Virtual Sports “random”?
In a way, it hard to answer this question as almost all sports events have a large degree of randomness built into them, but in terms of Virtual Sports, while each of the competitors in an event are given odds, there is a high degree of random variance within the simulation to ensure that the favourites do not always in.
So yes, there is a random element to virtual sports, but that random element has been designed to try and emulate what would happen in real life sports where possible.
What Virtual Sports can I play at Paddy Power?
Paddy Power offers punters the chance to bet on a number of virtual sports. The options can be broadly broken down into two types of virtual sports:
- Race-based events – Horse racing, Greyhound Racing, Motor Racing, Cycling
- Match–based events – Football and Tennis
In race events, the software will simulate the chosen race with a number of participants in the race weighted by the software and given odds based on that. After a period for betting, the race will start and shown to completion in around 30 seconds to 1 minute. After the race is completed, the results are displayed, winning bets paid out and then betting on a new race starts.
In match-based e
vents, a game is played between the two protagonists in the chosen sport and players can bet on a number of predetermined markets for the sport. After the betting period closes, the highlights of the match (for football) or the game (for tennis) are shown and after this completes, the winning results are shown, winning bets paid out and then a new betting market opens for the next match.
Let’s take a closer look at each of the individual Virtual Sports on offer at Paddy Power in turn:
Horse Racing
Paddy Power offers Virtual Horse racing from three virtual tracks, Patrick Park, Glenview Gardens and Hazelbrook, with a varying amount of runners in each. Some races are run over
fences, some on the flat. You can place bets on the Win and Each Way market, or Forecast or Tricast bets
Tennis
In the Tennis Virtual Sports betting console you can watch as two players face off in a single game of tennis on a grass court, seemingly modelled on Wimbledon. You can bet on the Win/Lose market, the Total Number of Points in the game and the Correct Score of the game.
Cycling
In the cycling option, there are races every three minutes from the Powerdrome in the Keirin race. Seven to nine riders contest in the race where you can place bets on the Win or Each Way or Forecast/Tricast markets.
Greyhounds
Greyhound racing is offered from two different tracks Thistlecourt and Ballyhale Park and at each of these tracks you can place bets on the Win or Each Way Market, or Forecast/Tricast bets. There are a total of six dogs running in each race and races are contested over the flat and also over jumps.
Football
In the football Virtual Sports option, you can bet on the Win/Draw/Win, Correct Score and Total Goals market for each game. Matches are a mixture of Domestic Club matches (featuring a mix of fantasy teams, based on real life times) as well as a number of International matches featuring countries from around the world.
Motor Sports
Motor Sports actually sees two different types of sports playable. At the Santa Riga Stadium you can bet on a four-man Speedway Race, while at the Goldrock Circuit, you can place bets on a 12-man Indy Car style race. On both these events only Win and Each Way betting is available.
Are Virtual Sports legit?
As a form of betting, Virtual Sports are the sports betting equivalent of the slots machine in casinos. These are games that are devised more for the punter who likes to wager more on random chance bets, rather than a strategist punter who likes to study form. You can also play virtual sports at other sites too, such as SkyBet and Bet365 Sport.
However, they are, like a slot machine, tested to ensure that they offer punters a fair game and you can win on these games in exactly the same way and using the same betting processes as you would a real sports betting market.
Virtual Sports are also available 24-hours a day, 365 days a year making them extremely flexible in terms of how you can bet on them. They are not the same as sports betting, but they are equally as much fun to play on.