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Sportingbet Virtual Sports Betting


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About Sportingbet’s Virtual Sports

Virtual Section of Sportingbet
Preview from Sportingbet’s Virtual Section

In a bid to offer a comprehensive online gaming portal, Sportingbet has also developed a complete virtual gaming section in addition to their already well-established online casino and sportsbook. The virtual gaming section offers simulated games modeled around real-life sports such as football, horse races, greyhounds, tennis, velodrome cycling, speedways, and motor racing. Sportingbet has all these to offer, with a new race or match starting even minute. This means the action never ends here.

To access the Sportingbet virtual gaming portal, simply open the main website on your regular desktop browser. From the homepage, you will see the ‘Virtuals’ tab placed amongst the other navigation tabs on the menu bar. Click on this tab, and you will be presented with what we found to be one of the richest and entertaining virtual gaming portals.

The first thing to catch our attention is the organization and arrangement of the virtual gaming portal. The different virtual sports are categorized into tiles that you can click on to reveal more details. Each of the virtual events here is presented in HD simulations with the aim at recreating the real sporting events. In addition, these events come backed up with high odds and multiple betting markets, giving you virtually endless betting possibilities.

In this article, we will do a detailed review of the Sportingbet virtual gaming site. We will go further and explain how you can enjoy these virtual games on the go from your mobile device. In addition, we will be throwing in a tip or two on how you can use these virtual games to have successful bets.


Virtual Football

Sportingbet's virtual football

Sportingbet presents you with some ways in which you can play and bet on virtual football. Once you open the virtual betting portal, you will realise there are three main football oriented sections. We will start by explaining the first two; Instant Football and Virtual Football.

The Instant Football section, as the name suggests, gives you access to instant On-Demand footballing action. The matches here are not pre-planned bases on a certain scheduled. On the contrary, the instant football section will allow you to pick two teams randomly. These teams are then assigned their odds. Before this instant play On-Demand match begins, you will be presented with both teams and their performance history is shown. This will aid you in making the betting decision.

The second type of virtual football offered here is in the league format found under the ‘Virtual Football’ tab.

Leagues

This is offered as an alternative form of virtual football in addition to the instant play On-Demand matches. To access the virtual football league, click the ‘Virtual Football’ tab. In here you will find a league comprised of 16 teams. The league is modelled like a real-life football league with the teams facing off in the home and away matches.

The virtual league is a selection of top tier football teams named after major cities from around the world. Here you will find a team such as London, Milan, and Manchester, to name but a few. The games are played out in scheduled match days. On each given match day, you will be presented with the video streams to the day’s matches, and you can switch to whichever screen with the game that interests you. At the end of the match day, the table is automatically updated to show the current standings.

In addition to these table standings, the virtual league also has a stats centre that resembles that of real-life leagues. The stats center is an important resource for you when making betting decisions as it gives you tips on a certain team’s run of form from previous matches.

Available markets

With the two virtual football portals, there are endless possibilities on the bets you can place. You will, however, realise that the markets in the instant play mode are a bit slimmer. Here, you are given the option to bet on 1X2, Double Chance, HT Results, Over/Under Total Goals.

If you want a richer betting market that resembles a real-life sportsbook, then you should check out the league section under the ‘Virtual Football’ tab. With the virtual league, the betting options are so diverse. You can place the usual 1X2 bets or explore further and try your luck in other markets such as the HT Exact Score, FT Exact Score, GG, Double Chance, and Asian Handicap.

Game duration

The longevity of the virtual football matches will depend on whether you are playing in the instant play section or the league section. The instant play virtual matches are more fast-paced, with each lasting a maximum of 1 minute and 45 seconds. You will realise that with these matches, there are no half time breaks. Instead, the video stream plays continuously giving you highlights from both the first and second half with no breaks in between.

With the virtual league matches, they tend to play on for a bit longer giving you richer gaming experience. These matches can last up to 2 minutes, with a 20 second half time break. As it is with real life football matches, during the half time you will get a brief breakdown of each team’s performance in terms of possession, attempts on goal and fouls committed.

Time between matches

The break period will depend on whether you are playing the instant play matches or the league matches. Technically, there are no breaks with the instant play format as you are the one setting the game rolling. This means you can have a new game starting as soon as one ends.

With the league matches, on the other hand, these take place based on scheduled match days. Each match day is set 5 minutes apart. At the end of each match day, the results are automatically factored in the current table standings. There will then be a brief break period of about 90 seconds before the next matchday begins. You can use this break period to place your pre-match bets as the virtual league does not support in-play betting.

Try Virtual Football


Virtual Football Centre

Sportingbet's virtual football section

With Sportingbet, football is presented in its full glory as the worlds most followed sport. In addition to the two virtual football sections described above, there is a third section dedicated entirely to another format of virtual football. Once you open you ‘Virtual Football Centre’ you will enter a world of virtual football leagues. This section brings together multiple football leagues and tournaments from around the world. What sets this section apart from the other two described above is that here there are no video streams. The matches are played out and the results of each match day presented without any video streaming of the match highlights.

Leagues

Another distinguishing factor with this section is that it serves as a boiling pot of football leagues and tournaments from around the world. Every continent is represented here with a league or two. These are categorised into five sections namely Virtual Football Pro, Virtual Champions League, Virtual Europa League, Virtual World Cup, and Virtual Soccer.

Except for the Virtual Football Pro section, the rest of the leagues and tournaments are modelled after the real-life counterparts. For instance, the Virtual Champions League competition runs like the actual UEFA Champions League, with teams facing off in knock-out matches.

The Virtual Football Pro serves as a center that brings together the world top tier leagues from Europe and around the world such as the Premier League, La Liga, League 1 and Bundesliga. The Virtual Football Pro takes you on a world tour where you can select to play on any continent or country. Simply click on a region in the world map therein, and you will land on a list of leagues available for that region for which you can bet on.

Available markets

The Virtual Football Centre no only gives you a real-world football tour but also opens doors to multiple betting markets for you to win real cash as you enjoy the game. The betting options offered here are what you would get with a real-life sportsbook. These range from Win/Draw/Lose, Over/Under, Correct Score, HT/FT, First Goalscorer and Asian Handicap among myriad other options.

The odds for the teams are weighted to create a real show similar to the real-life football leagues. Still, it is important to note that a virtual team’s performance in the virtual league is not pegged on the real-time performance of that team in real life. You shouldn’t, therefore, place bets in the virtual league based on the weekend’s performance of your favourite premier league team.

Game duration

As hinted out earlier, the matches in the Virtual Football Centre are a tad bit different in that there are no video streams. Instead, the games are arranged in match days. The length of each match day will vary for the leagues and the knockout tournaments.

In the virtual leagues such as the La Liga, Premier League or Serie A, the match days are set 1 minute and a half apart. There is a clock counting down from 90 placed at the top right corner of the page. At the lapse of this countdown, your screen automatically reloads and displays the day’s results. These results are then factored into the current league standings, and the countdown to the next matchday begins. It takes only one hour for a whole league season to be played out, which means in a day you can bet on up to 24 seasons.

With the knockout tournaments such as the Virtual World Cup and Champions League, on the other hand, there are 120 seconds for each match day. The countdown starts once the results of the previous matchday have been published. After each round of play, the losing teams are eliminated as the tournament progresses to the next stage.

Time between matches

The events in the Virtual Football Centre are fast-paced, and you, therefore, need to be alert to place your bets before the countdown clock runs down. After each round of play or match day, the results are displayed for about 15 seconds. The countdown then restarts for the next round of play. During this period, you can place your bets for the upcoming matches. The markets will close five seconds to the start of the matches.


Virtual In-play Tennis

Sportingbet's Virtual Tennis

Aside from the impressive football betting markets, Sportingbet also has something to offer its tennis fans. Through the virtual tennis portal, you will have access to some thrilling tennis action that is live streamed in HD video. You will find not only one but up to three tennis matches running concurrently. On the right panel alongside the video streaming screen, you will see a list of all live tennis matches. You can switch from one to another by simply clicking on the tennis player names of this panel.

From our review, we found the design and attention to detail here very impressive. You will realise that the arena is quite similar to a real-life tennis stadium, complete with the audience stands. You can also hear the umpire calling out his decisions, and in a few instances, the video assistant referee is utilised.

Betting markets

Just as with the gameplay, the betting markets are also modelled like those of the real tennis world. With the Sportingbet virtual tennis, you can bet on match winner, set winner, total points scored or correct scores. The odds are quite inviting as well. You can even place multi-bets of combined outcomes to push your odds even higher.

What’s more, unlike with the virtual football markets, Sportingbet allows in-play live betting with virtual tennis. This means you are never locked out of the action as you can join in at any point of the match.

Match duration

In the same fashion as real-life tennis matches, the virtual tennis duels tend to be a bit longer than other virtual games. Here a match can go on for as long as 3 minutes. There are about 20 seconds in between the playing points.

Time between matches

The virtual tennis matches are offered round the clock. At any time of the day, you will find a game going on. Once a match is over, the results will be displayed, and you can determine whether there are any bets won. The break period lasts 30 seconds before kickoff of the next match.


Virtual Horse Racing

Sportingbet's Virtual Horses

Sportingbet also has a virtual racebook for horse races. In line with their top-notch innovative ideas, the virtual horse races are offered in an instant play on-demand format. While the scheduled races mode is more familiar with most virtual sportsbooks, there are some advantages from having the instant play on-demand horse races. For instance, this format gives you full control of when the races should start. This allows you time to consider the bets you intend to place.

All the horse races here are presented in live HD video streams. Each race is designed to fit between 4 and 16 horses with their jockeys, but normally you will find only 8 or 10 horses participating. The quality of the animations is so good that you would think these are actual horses racing. If you want some quick betting action without having to watch the video streams, you can click on the ‘Quick Play Mode’ button at the top-left corner of the streaming video. This makes the races skip the video part and results are automatically computed once you click the ‘Start Race’ button. There will be no video streams in this mode.

Betting markets

Though not as diverse as the real-life racebooks, the Sportingbet virtual horse races still have a good number of betting options. There mainly three betting options here; win the bet, place a bet or forecast bet.

  • Single Win Bet – This is the most straightforward and most straight forward bet you can place here. You need to select one horse that you are backing to emerge as the outright winner.
  • Single Place Bet – Similar to the win bet, here you will also be backing one horse but instead of a win, you select the position you believe the horse will finish in.
  • Forecast Bet – This is also a bet on the position of the horses. The key difference is that in this market you will be backing not only one but two horses to feature in the 1st and 2nd positions. Forecast bets tend to be a bit more lucrative. However, winning such a bet is a bit tougher as both horses have to be in the predicted positions.
Race duration

The virtual horse race starts when you click the ‘Start button.’ The entire race runs for 45 seconds as the horses do a complete lap around the race track. You will realise that the horses are identified using their tag numbers instead of the names. You can keep track of the horses using the race bar places at the bottom of the screen which shows the current positions in real time.

Time between races

Since these races are offered in an instant play on-demand format, you are technically the determinant of how long the break is. The next race will only start once you hit the start button. As hinted earlier, this format of racing is good since you have all the time you need to select your bets.


Virtual Greyhounds

Sportingbet's Virtual Greyhounds

Greyhounds racing is also another popular sport that has been simulated in the Sportingbet virtuals section. Sportingbet has designed a race format for the dogs that is quite similar to that of the horses. The races here are also offered in the instant play on-demand mode.

In each race normally has a lineup of about six greyhounds, but the virtual design allows for as much as 16. As it is the case with the other virtual sports offered by Sportingbet, the outcome of the virtual greyhounds is determined by an RNG. This means the race plays out like a real-life lottery, as every dog is given an equal chance of winning.

Betting markets

The similarity between the greyhound’s races and the horse races also extends to the betting markets. Here, you will also have three types of bets to place. They are as described below;

  • Single Bet Win – In a single win bet, you need to select one dog that you believe will emerge the eventual winner of the race. This is a pretty simple and straight forward bet as you are looking for one outcome only.
  • Single Bet Place – This is also a single-outcome bet whereby you will be backing one of the greyhounds to finish the race in a particulate position. Based on the number of greyhounds featured in the race, the position you bet on should necessarily be among the top the three spots.
  • Forecast – Unlike the first two betting markets described above, this is a tied bet. In such a bet, you will be backing two greyhounds to finish in the top two positions, either in order or in any random form. The reason a forecast is referred to as a tied bet is for you to win; both dogs selected have to be in those top two positions. If one dog falls back, then you lose the entire bet. Though this might sound like a riskier bet, the odds are equally highly rewarding.
Race duration

The virtual greyhound’s races are quick sprints that require the dogs to complete one lap around the track. From start to finish, the race takes at most 30 seconds. At the end of the race, there will be a brief replay of the action at the finishing line before the results are displayed. From here you can determine if you won any of your bets.

Time between races

Similar to the virtual horse races, the virtual greyhound’s races are also offered in an instant play on-demand mode. This means there are no scheduled breaks in between races as you are the one to start the race at your convenience. With the virtual greyhound, there is a ‘Quick Play Mode’ as well which you can use to skip the video streaming part of the race and jump right to the race results.


Virtual Speedway

Sportingbet's virtual speedway

If you are fun of the big smoke spewing speedway superbikes, then Sportingbet has got you covered. The animation here is so real you will even get to hear the loud bike engines as the riders accelerate around the bends. The graphics used are equally impressive.

Each virtual speedway race consists of four bikers doing two laps around the racetrack. This is a fast-paced race that starts and ends within seconds. Similar to the virtual horse races, the speedway races are also not scheduled but instead offered in an on-demand format.

Betting markets

While real-life speedway races have myriad betting options, Sportingbet has opted to keep clear and simple here. Although the limited number of betting markets might be a letdown to some gamers, it still serves quite well especially for beginners who are looking for a simple way to bet without too many complications. The betting options available here are;

  • Win – As the name suggests, here you will be placing a bet on one racer emerging the eventual winner from the race. This is a simple and pretty straightforward bet.
  • Place – With a place bet, you will be backing one of the four riders on finishing in a particular position.
  • Forecast – In a forecast bet, you will be backing two of the riders on featuring in the 1st and 2nd position. Of the three betting markets, you will realise the forecast bet tends to have higher odds. This is arguable because as explained earlier, it is a tied bet thus much harder to achieve than the other two types of bets.
Race duration

The virtual speedway bikes are required to do two laps around the virtual track. One race takes no more than 30 seconds.

Time between races

The virtual speedway races are offered on-demand rather than in a scheduled format. This, therefore, gives you control of how long the breaks last, as a race can only start once you have clicked the ‘Start Race’ button.


Virtual Velodrome

Sportingbet's virtual velodrome

Still, with the speed junkies, this is another category of virtual sport that will surely excite you. Velodrome cycling is popular for being a fast sport that is highly entertaining with some lucrative betting markets. The same is replicated with the Sportingbet virtual velodrome races.

These virtual races feature 8 participants each. The results and eventual winner of each race are determined by a Random Number Generator, which technically means this is an equal chances games. The races are not scheduled rather are played on-demand. Simply click the start race button, and you will enter a world of blitz racing action.

Betting markets

The betting options available with the virtual velodrome are similar to what is offered with the other Sportingbet virtual races. These are;

  • Single Win – With this option, you bet on the eventual winner of the race.
  • Single Place – This option requires you to predict that a particular biker will finish in a specific position.
  • Forecast – In this betting option, you will be predicting which two bikers will be in the top two positions.

Though limited in the number of betting markets, the few available here still do the magic. The odds offered are relatively high.

Race duration

Each virtual velodrome race goes for 45 seconds. As it is with the other virtual races offered by Sportingbet, there is also a ‘Quick Play Mode’ which you can use to skip right to the results. When this mode is activated, the video streams are no played, but instead, the results are automatically generated and displayed on the screen.

Time between races

Assuming you leave the live streaming option on, each race is followed by a display of the results for a few seconds. After that, the screen will transition to show you the lineup for the next race. Being an on-demand type of race, the next round will only start when you click the start button.


Virtual Trotting

Sportingbet's Virtual Trottin

Back to the horse races, this is another variation that involves the horses racing with a two-wheeled cart strapped to their backs. In this type of racing, the jockey rides in the cart rather than on horseback. Sportingbet has gone ahead and included this entertaining variation of horse racing to their virtual sportsbook.

The virtual trotting races here are offered 24/7 on an on-demand format. Similar to the other races, you are given the control button to determine when each race kicks off. The action takes place at a virtual racetrack that has been designed to look like the real thing. The quality of the live streams is also quite good, provided you have a strong internet connection.

Betting markets

In addition to being highly entertaining, trotting is a sport that has for ages offered endless betting options. With Sportingbet, it seems they opted to keep the betting markets few and simple. As it is the case with the other types of virtual races, there are only three betting options available here;

  • Win Bet – Here you simply select which horse will win the race.
  • Place Bet – In this case, you will be betting on your horse finishing the race in a certain position.
  • Forecast Bet – This is also a place bet with the key difference being that it involved betting two horses instead of one. To win a forecast bet, both horses have to feature in the top two positions.
Race duration

The virtual trotting races tend to be a bit longer than the other races, with each race lasting 1 minute. Within this duration, the horses are required to complete a single lap around the race track.

Time between races

The virtual trotting races are also offered in an instant play format, and therefore there are no pre-determined breaks. You simply click the start button and another race kicks off.


Virtual Racings

Sportingbet's Virtual Racings Section

All the virtual races we have reviewed in the above section are offered in an on-demand format. While this design might work for some gamers, others would rather have the conventional type of scheduled races that start at pre-determined intervals. If you are looking for such, worry not as Sportingbet also has this to offer.

Simply click the ‘All Scheduled Racing’ tab in the virtual sports home landing page. Here you will find up to five different types of virtual races, all scheduled to kick off at different times. For the virtual horses, greyhounds, cycling, and Speedway, the races start every three minutes. The virtual trotting races, on the other hand, are set to start every five minutes.

The betting markets offered for these scheduled races do not differ that much from those of the on-demand races. There are three main types of bets you can place here; Win, Place, and Forecast.

The main advantage of this type of virtual races is that it gives you a realistic feel by having the races kick off at scheduled intervals as it is the case with real-life competitions. The limited time breaks in between the races also keep you on edge.

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Virtual Betting Bonuses

From the look of things, Sportingbet has lined up any bonuses or offers specifically for the virtual sports section. Even with the general promotions page, there is nothing much on offer as their bonuses are very few and relatively unattractive. Worth noting is the loyalty program which earns you coupon points for every real money bet you place here.


In-play betting on Virtual Sports

Aside from the virtual tennis matches, all the other virtual sports offered here do not support in-play betting. You are required to place your bets before the markets close, which is normally between 5 and 10 seconds to kick off. With the virtual tennis, however, the markets will remain open, and you can place bets on the live games.


Mobile betting on Virtual Sports

In addition to giving you round the clock online access to your favourite sports, Sportingbet has also made it easy to play on the go through their mobile gaming platforms. Through your smartphone or tablet, you will still have access to stream and bet on all these virtual games.

You can do this by either downloading the Android or iOS versions of the Sportingbet apps, which are available from the respective app stores. Alternatively, you can use your regular mobile web browser to open the Sportingbet site and play directly from there. We found the website to be highly responsive and working well with most mobile browsers.


Virtual Sports Providers

The Sportingbet virtual gaming is made possible through the technology offered by Leap Gaming. This is an animation, virtual gaming and 3D gaming developer that was founded five years back. In the short period of their existence, Leap Gaming has rapidly grown in popularity and is currently working in partnership with a number of other major online casinos and online gaming platforms such as Bet365. If the products on Sportingbet are anything to go by, then it would be safe to say the company has a bright future ahead.


Payment methods

While playing the virtual games, you will not be limited in the payment methods to use as you can still apply the same banking options as those of the sportsbook or online casino sections. In all, there are over two dozen different payment methods accepted at Sportingbet. The availability of some of these methods will depend on your geographical zone and what you select as your country of residence.

The most common payment methods here available across nearly all countries include Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, Paysafecard, and Bank Transfers, among many others.

Payment MethodDeposit MinimumDeposit MaximumTime for Deposit
Visa LogoVisa£10£50,000Instant
Bank Wire Transfer LogoBank Wire Transfer£10£50,0003 – 5 Bank Days
Neteller LogoNeteller£10£50,000Instant
Skrill LogoSkrill£10£5,00024 Hours
Paysafe Card LogoPaysafe Card£1£4,000Instant
MasterCard LogoMasterCard£10£50,000Instant
PayPal LogoPayPal£10£50,00024 Hours
CLICK2PAY LogoCLICK2PAY£10£50,000Instant
Maestro LogoMaestro£10£50,000Instant
Ukash LogoUkash£1£1,000Instant
Laser LogoLaser£10£50,000Instant
Delta LogoDelta£10£50,000Instant
Payment MethodWithdrawal MinimumWithdrawal MaximumTime for Withdrawal
Visa LogoVisa£10£100,0001 – 5 bank days
Bank Wire Transfer LogoBank Wire Transfer£10£100,0001 – 3 bank days
Neteller LogoNeteller£10£100,0001 – 5 bank days
Skrill LogoSkrill£250£2,5001 – 5 bank days
Paysafe Card LogoPaysafe Card---
MasterCard LogoMasterCard---
PayPal LogoPayPal---
CLICK2PAY LogoCLICK2PAY£10£100,0001 – 5 bank days
Maestro LogoMaestro£10£100,0001 – 5 bank days
Ukash LogoUkash---
Laser LogoLaser---
Delta LogoDelta£10£100,0001 – 5 bank days

FAQs

Can I use money won on the virtual sports to bet on other gaming categories such as the online casino?

Yes, once you have won a bet, the money is deposited in your gaming account and you can use it at your discretion.

Are there any welcome bonuses for the virtual games section?

Currently, no. Sportingbet is yet to issue any welcome bonuses or offers for virtual gamers.

Can I play virtual games on mobile?

Yes, you can access the virtual games either via the mobile site version or through the downloadable mobile apps.

Do I need to download any software for me to play virtual games?

No, the virtual games are flash based and can easily stream on any Flash-enabled desktop browser.

Can I use virtual games to meet a bonus wagering requirement?

This will depend on the terms and conditions given for that specific bonus. Normally, game-specific bonuses will limit you to using the bonus on that particular category of games only.

Can I cancel a bet on the virtual games?

No, once a bet is placed and confirmed, you cannot cancel the bet.

Do the virtual races have a Re-bet function?

Yes, at the end of each race, there is a re-bet button right above the start race button. This is available for the instant play races only. You can use this feature to quickly place bets of the same stake amount as your last bet.

Can I place an in-play bet on the virtual football matches?

No, in-play bets are only available for tennis, and no other virtual game offered here supports in-play live bets.


Conclusion and Rating

While doing this review, Sportingbet stood out as one of the most reliable and entertaining virtual gaming portals around. The beauty of this site is the variety it offers. Whether you are looking for instant play action or scheduled live virtual matches, then Sportingbet has it all lined up for you. In addition, the help section proved to be quite helpful especially in explaining the types of betting markets for each of the virtual games.

The only let down we could point at here is at the bonuses section. It would work better if Sportingbet had a few offers for the virtuals as well.

Rating: 9/10

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Elica Martinova
Elica Martinova
Betting expert
Certified Betting Expert
Ellie is in charge of writing, editing, and publishing reviews in Bulgarian, English, and German. She has a long track record as a journalist and is passionate about writing. Also, she is quite experienced when it comes to bookmakers as well.