Virtual sports betting looks much like the real thing in many ways. It uses high-quality graphics and animations to appear just like a real sports match or race.
Therefore, you may feel that virtual sports gambling can be profitable under the right circumstances. After all, regular betting rewards the best gamblers with profits.
But does virtual wagering actually give you a chance to gain a long-term advantage? The following guide explains this matter while discussing what exactly you need to be a winning virtual bettor.
How Does Virtual Sports Gambling Work?
Virtual sports betting works like normal wagering in many ways. For starters, the odds and bet types are the same that you’ll see at regular sportsbooks.
However, virtual sports matches aren’t nearly as long as regular sporting contests. Instead, they only feature the highlights. Of course, most people don’t want to watch a 90-minute virtual soccer match anyways.
As you know, real games and races are decided by humans and animals. They don’t use a computer algorithm to determine the results.
Can You Beat Virtual Sports Betting?
Not many people win long-term sports gambling profits. After all, bookmakers are rather good at their jobs.
Nevertheless, highly-skilled sports bettors can win long-term profits. Some of them have complex systems, while others are just great at handicapping individual matches.
Of course, bookies use computer programs to some degree. However, there’s also a human element to how they set lines.
Rather than taking juice from the losing side, virtual sports betting features a house edge. It’s much like a casino game in this way, because it requires you to get lucky to win over time.
Why Do You Need Luck to Beat Virtual Sports Gambling?
You simply can’t rely on skill alone to win long-term profits and beat virtual bookmakers. The following reasons explain why you need good fortune on your side.
You’re Facing Fixed Odds—Not the Sportsbook
The main reason why you can’t beat virtual betting in the long run is because you’re not going against the bookmaker.
With virtual betting, on the other hand, you’re facing a computer program. Unless the developers truly mess up the programming, there’s no long-term edge to be had.
The House Holds the Advantage
As mentioned earlier, virtual sports gambling is much like casino games. It features a house edge rather than juice.
Of course, regular sportsbooks also earn long-term winnings thanks to their juice. Again, though, they can make errors and give an advantage to skilled bettors.
Virtual Betting Is More like a Casino Game
If you’ve played online casino games before, you know that they’re difficult to beat over any measurable amount of time.
Virtual sports betting is the same way. You need to get luckier and luckier as you continue placing bets to end up in the black.
How Does Regular Sports Betting Differ?
Sportsbooks use every tool at their disposal to set lines that don’t provide much of an advantage one way or the other. They also take juice from the losing side to all but ensure that, over time, they earn profits. Bookies don’t mess up and leave advantages on the table very often.
Regular sports betting has a small element of human error. Top sports gamblers can profit by continually exploiting these errors.
Luck permitting, you can beat virtual betting over a period of time. Eventually, though, the house edge will catch up to you.
Virtual Sports Betting Tips
You may not be able to dominate virtual sports gambling through skill alone. However, you can at least improve your odds of winning and manage gambling funds better with the following tips.
Map Out Your Bankroll
You can’t gain the advantage over virtual betting sites. Given that you’re relying on some element of luck, you should only bet money that you’re prepared to lose.
It also reduces the temptation to gamble more money than you can afford to lose. Here’s an example on how to develop a bankroll plan for virtual betting:
- You go through your finances and determine that you can put $500 towards gambling.
- You break your bankroll down into units of $10.
- 500 / 10 = 50 units
- You set a stop-loss limit of 3 units per day.
- You’ll stop placing bets any time that you lose up to 3 units.
Understand How Volatility Affects Odds
Given that the house holds an advantage, you might not feel like the odds matter. However, the odds matter greatly with regard to volatility.
You want to decide first and foremost what your main objective is. Are you looking to frequently win bets? Are you hoping to successfully back winning underdogs and collect huge payouts?
A team with -350 odds may not offer the largest payout. However, it’s going to win the vast majority of the time and put money in your bankroll.
Of course, wagering on underdogs and chasing bigger payouts can also be entertaining. You must be prepared, however, to win less often when going this route.
Look for the Best RTP
As with mobile casino games, virtual sports betting also features return to player (RTP). Provided the information is available, you want to look for virtual betting sites that offer the highest RTP.
A virtual bookmaker that offers 97% RTP, for example, will pay more on average than one that features 96% payback.
Go for Virtual Sports Betting Bonuses
A great way to boost your bottom line is by taking advantage of bonuses. Many betting sites offer bonuses for regular and virtual sports gambling.
Even if you’re not dealing with a bonus that could provide theoretical profits, you should still take advantage of these offers. They’ll help you earn more money and reduce the amount of luck needed to win with virtual betting.
Conclusion
In answer to the original question, yes, you can earn profits through virtual sports wagering. However, you won’t gain a long-term advantage over virtual sportsbooks.
The best you can do is manage your bankroll, properly weight the odds with volatility, and collect bonuses.
Of course, you don’t necessarily have to look at virtual wagering as a profit-making venture. You can always view it as an enjoyable way to pass the offseason for your favorite sport.
