Virtual Horse Racing Betting: How and Where to Play

Virtual horse racing betting allows gamblers to bet on simulated races every few minutes, all day, every day.

The always-on aspect is perhaps its biggest allure because, unlike real horse races, virtual races happen around the clock and are never canceled for the weather or other natural disasters. Whereas live races don’t always align with our schedules, virtual races welcome all comers day or night.

Virtual Horse Racing Betting Sites

Best Virtual Horse Racing Betting Apps

Below are BettingUSA’s recommended gambling sites and apps for virtual horse racing betting.

BetMGM Casino

• Virtual horse and greyhound racing
• Games developed by Inspired Entertainment
• BetMGM Casino offers a large welcome bonus for new customers

DraftKings Casino

• Virtual horse racing betting plus more than a dozen other virtual sports
• Latest generation of Inspired Entertainment games
• DraftKings Casino welcomes new players with a large deposit bonus

Caesars Casino

• Virtual horse racing and greyhound racing betting
• Games by Inspired Entertainment
• Generous welcome bonus

Golden Nugget Casino

• Virtual horse racing, greyhounds, and other sports
• Two horse racing variations, one not found at most other betting sites
• One of the biggest welcome bonuses in the industry

Where Is Virtual Horse Racing Betting Legal?

Virtual horse racing is classified as a form of gambling, not sports betting or horse racing betting. That is an important distinction because virtual horse racing betting is only legal in states where online gambling is legal.

If online gambling is not legal in your state, there is a good chance real horse racing betting is. If you live in one of the states with legal horse racing betting, licensed racebooks such as AmWager and TVG offer a similar experience – but with real horse races instead of virtual.

States with legal online casinos:

What To Expect With Virtual Horse Racing

Inspired Entertainment designs and distributes most of the virtual horse racing games found at online casinos today. Players will find the company implements many aspects of traditional horse racing into its offerings.

Inspired Entertainment and other developers design virtual horse racing to mimic the real thing as closely as possible. Players can expect to find pre-race odds displays just like one would find at the track, a full menu of betting options, streaming CGI video, and even in-race commentary.

Of course, the most significant difference is that virtual races are decided by random chance and not by the effort of real horses. Still, the chances of each horse winning its virtual race are weighted by its odds such that a 3/1 favorite is more likely to win than a 25/1 longshot – just like in the real world. But ultimately, the outcome of every race is determined by a random number generator.

Virtual racing games pay winning bets at the end of each race, and the next race gets underway a minute or two later. You can play and bet as long as you want because betting sites automate the entire process to provide 24-hour racing action.

Most of the same types of bets one could place on a standard race are also available when you bet on virtual horse racing. Options typically include win, place, and show bets plus exotics such as exactas and trifectas.

How Virtual Horse Races Work

The most important thing to remember with virtual horse racing betting is that it is entirely random. Although the presentation looks and feels like real racing, the mechanics make it no different than slots, roulette, or any other random gambling game.

Betting sites rely on random number generators (RNGs) to produce unpredictable virtual horse racing results. At the same time, operators can and do make certain outcomes likelier than others. Thus, a horse priced as a 5/2 favorite is still more likely to win than a horse priced as a 33/1 longshot, even though the outcome is random.

The house has complete control over how much money its virtual racing games return to players on average, but the results are still random. We can reconcile these seemingly contradictory claims by thinking of virtual racing as a raffle drawing and each horse as a ticket. The pre-race favorites may have six tickets in the drawing, while the longshot horses have just one or two tickets in the drawing.

In this imaginary raffle, the RNG selects a ticket (or a horse in this instance) at random to win the race. The selection is random, but the system is more likely to pick a favorite than a longshot because the favorite has more tickets in the drawing. Thus, the betting site gives appropriate weightings to favorites and longshots while still ensuring truly random results.

Players should also know that operators conduct virtual race bets in the fixed-odds format rather than parimutuel-style. That means it is the betting site that sets the odds in a virtual race, which contrasts against real horse races in which all wagers are pooled together and the odds determined by market forces.

What this all means for players is that it is impossible to gain an edge in virtual horse racing. In real horse races, it is possible (in theory) to win over the long term. Virtual horse racing betting is pure gambling. Sometimes you will win, sometimes not, but the house will always have the edge over the long run.

Virtual Horse Racing Do’s and Don’ts

Do: Set Limits and Know When to Quit

Online virtual horse racing betting is seductive for action seekers, but players should approach it with a healthy degree of caution. New races go off every minute or two on a continuous loop, day after day and week after week. Players must know when to stop because virtual horse racing never quits.

The single most important thing you can do to ensure you have a safe, fun time is to form a plan in advance detailing your stop loss and win limits. Pick an amount of money you can stand to lose without feeling sick about it and set that as your limit for the day. If you lose any more money than that, you must quit no matter what.

Another often overlooked strategy is to set a daily win limit to lock in any profits you attain on a good day. It is common knowledge in the gaming industry that players often turn winning days into losing days due to simple greed. They go on a hot run, rack up some nice win totals, and then give it all right back the very same day.

You will dramatically increase the number of winning days you have by setting a reasonable daily win limit. Set a single-day win limit and quit if your daily winnings ever exceed that amount.

By combining a stop loss with a daily win limit, you will significantly reduce the variance you experience in virtual horse racing betting.

Don’t: Mentally Associate Virtual Horse Racing With Real Horse Races

This virtual horse racing tip may sound strange, but it is surprisingly easy to mentally associate virtual horse racing betting with real racing. Both stimulate the brain in a similar fashion, from the looks and sounds to how you feel when you win and lose.

The risk in mentally associating one with the other is that it becomes easy to start feeling like you’re “due” for a win or that you just need to bet on one more virtual race to break even for the day.

Additionally, today’s virtual horse racing games are extremely realistic, but their designers know how to lure players in by including tempting gaming elements. Virtual horse racing betting is simultaneously realistic and highly gamified. It makes for a fun but dangerous combination.

For example, consider Inspired Entertainment’s V-Play Horses GO game. It features nearly photorealistic graphics, quick bet buttons, an instant re-bet option after every race, random price boosts for all wagers, and an in-game bonus wheel that randomly multiplies winning bets.

Players need to remember at all times that instant horse racing betting is a different beast than real horse racing. These are two very distinct forms of gambling. Virtual horse racing is faster-paced and is always available, so players must treat it with more care.

It is easy to spend too much money on regular horse racing. It is even easier to do so with virtual racing.

Virtual racing is pure gambling, while real-world horse racing includes some element of skill. It is important to keep this difference in mind and accept the inherent risk in betting on simulated races. It is entirely possible to win money on any given day, but always remember the house has the advantage over the long term. Conservative risk management is crucial.

Do: Only Bet with Money You Can Afford to Lose

This is a tip that applies to gambling in general, but it bears repeating. In every form of gambling, there is a risk that you lose everything you bring to the table. Sometimes luck runs against us, and wins are hard to come by.

Only fund your account with money you can afford to lose and consider that money gone the instant you deposit. Pretend you’ve already lost that money and must still pay the bills that month with everything else.

Gamblers tend to be optimistic even though we all know nothing is guaranteed. When you consider any money you deposit as already spent in full, it helps you make a more realistic determination of what you can really afford to lose. Even better, anything you win from that point on feels like a nice bonus.

Don’t: Assume Past Results Are Indicative of Future Outcomes

This adage from the investing world seems obvious at first glance yet still has a sneaky way of creeping up on us. It is easy to win a few bets in virtual horse racing betting and start feeling like you’re on a hot streak. If you’re not careful, this way of thinking will have you blowing through your win/loss limits in no time.

Streaks are only apparent after the fact. Every single virtual horse race is an independent, random event. Whether you’ve won or lost your last five straight bets, it means nothing regarding the next wager.

Winning a few bets in a row does not mean you are any more likely to continue winning. Likewise, losing a few in a row does not mean you are “due” to win any time now. Stubbornly stick to your win and loss limits at all times.

Do: Keep Track of the Time

The frequency and short duration of virtual horse races make it all too easy to lose track of time. In the time you could have watched a real horse race take place, complete with trotting out the horses and announcing the winners, you can easily play through a dozen virtual races.

Gambling is best taken in small doses. Shorter gambling sessions make it easier to stop when you should and to make smarter decisions regarding how much money you’re willing to risk. Conversely, longer sessions tend to dull your thinking and make it more tempting to chase losses.

Don’t: Refuse to Accept a Loss

We all experience losing days from time to time in gambling. That’s just the nature of the game. Even in games such as poker, which have a large skill element, luck can work against you. The same also applies to virtual horse betting.

If you hit your loss limit for the day, accept the loss and end your day there. It is never fun to stop on a negative note, but the entire purpose of loss limits is to prevent you from losing an uncomfortable amount of money.

It is much wiser to accept the occasional losing day and move on. One of the fastest ways to decimate your bankroll and lose an uncomfortable amount of money is to try to chase your losses. A gambler in the midst of chasing his losses tends to place riskier and riskier bets as the losses accumulate. Remember, there is always another day to try again when it comes to virtual horse racing.