On the screen in front of you, France and Spain are clashing on the pitch in an international match. The graphics, the animation, and the sound effects are reminiscent of playing FIFA on a computer. The players look awfully familiar – isn’t that Lionel Messi dribbling past Paul Pogba?
In reality, they are not. This is the world of virtual sports, an element of competition that continues to grow in popularity at online sports sites around the world.
In the virtual realm, art has imitated life for decades. Regular players of FIFA can pretend that they are Harry Kane, Neymar, or Gareth Bale. However, when it comes to virtual football, that’s not the case at all.
The game you’ll be watching might not be real, but the cash that you can win by wagering on the event most certainly is the real deal.
A Virtual Reality
For certain, there have been times where you’ve loaded FIFA up on your PlayStation. However, instead of choosing a side to play, perhaps out of curiosity, you’ve simply sat back and permitted the computer to contest the match.
This is a window into how virtual sports operate on an online platform. Instead of humans at the controls participating in the playing and the outcome of the match, complex computer algorithms control the match and determine the end result. It’s similar to how slot machines are programmed in casinos.
Random number generators are inserted into the virtual football platforms, ensuring that no one can determine what the final score will be prior to the match being played. Due to this random nature of the results of the matches, regulators classify the playing of virtual football to be in the same category as if you were wagering on a virtual slot machine.
The recipe for creating virtual football on a site is like if you were to throw sports, slot machines, and eSports into a pot. When the baking was done, what you’d take out of the oven would be this tasty package of FIFA meshed with the real chance to make some cold, hard cash.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, no, the program that operates the virtual football simulator on the sites doesn’t take into account that money has been wagered on the match.
What these advanced computer algorithms do take into account is the actual skill level of the players involved in the match. However, while the virtual players may perform in a similar fashion to their real-life counterparts, you’ll never hear them called by their names on a site.
In order to steer clear of any potential legal action being taken against these sites by professional players or league for rights violations, the names of the players and the clubs involved are omitted from the programs.
In certain instances, team nicknames are employed as handles for clubs. Thus, the Cherries are in fact Bournemouth.
One unusual perk of virtual football to keep in mind is that the matches are programmed so that no more than four goals can be scored. If you’re planning to wager on goal totals, that’s an important piece of knowledge to possess.
What’s the Purpose Of Virtual Football On A Gaming Site?
The advantage with virtual football matches to the person is that they are available when you want them to be available. Suppose it’s nine in the morning. You’ve just finished breakfast and are looking for something to do.
That Arsenal-Manchester United match you’re so looking forward to doesn’t get underway until 3 p.m. However, their virtual counterparts are right in front of you on the site, ready to go as soon as someone opts to login and place a wager on the match.
That’s the actual beauty of gaming on virtual football. You’re never found waiting for it to start. The next match is always waiting for you.
