If you have played Virtual Greyhounds at other providers such as bet365 or Betway then you will notice immediately, that 10Bet uses the same provider for their Virtual Greyhounds offerings (and indeed for all three of their Virtual Sports).
Unlike the other sites which have seemingly invested a bit of time in personalising each of their Virtual Sports offering to ensure that their brand is promoted within the Virtual Sport environment, 10Bet haven’t really opted to do that, so what you tend to find is that their games are pretty much as they left the developer with few add-ons, or site-specific advertisements within the game.
In this article, we are going to focus on 10Bet’s Virtual Greyhounds offering and what different bets are available on the race, how a typical race unfolds and how the 10Bet Virtual Greyhound service compares with other Virtual Greyhound services you can play.
Virtual Greyhounds
Info
- Time Between Events – 3 Minutes
- Number of Runners – 6 Runners in every race
- Tracks : 1 – The track is not named
- Types: Flat Racing
- Time Split– 1.50 mins race preview/betting window – 1.10 minutes for the race & results.
Bets Available
- Race Winner
- Forecast
- Tricast
- Reverse Forecast
- Combination Tricast
- Accumulator (across multiple races)
- Multiple selection bets (across multiple races)
Highlights
Once again, it is immediately apparent that 10Bet offer a pared down Virtual Greyhounds betting service compared to Betway for example.
While the time in between races and the number of runners remains the same, 10Bet only offer one greyhound track, which is not named and all races are done over the flat, rather than over fences as you can get on some races with other providers.
What is also unusual about how 10Bet approach the service is that they do not offer a preview of the race as you find on other Greyhound Virtual Sports. You don’t get to see each of the six dogs racing, or their form on the main screen (once again all that is shown is the game developers logo and message on repeat). Again, this is only a small matter as it is the betting that is the key aspect of the game in truth, but it does detract from the realism of the game somewhat.
One thing to note is that the three-minute per race timer actually starts with the race, and then once the race is run, the remaining time is used to bet on the next race. This means for example, if you want to bet on the 11.08 race, then you need to tune in for the 11.05 race to bet after that race has finished. This is somewhat confusing as most bookmakers organise their countdown so the three minutes has the betting period first, followed by the race, not the race first (which is somewhat illogical).
What this means is that every three minute countdown in 10Bet’s Virtual Greyhounds actually covers two races, the race and then the betting period for the race following that one. It’s a rather odd way to organise the sport in truth.
Once the countdown to the race has ended, you are presented with the same display as you would see on any other Virtual Greyhound service. The graphics are excellent and the position of the dogs in the race are shown at the foot of the page, together with a map of the circuit which shows you exactly where the dogs are in relation to the finish line.
Every race is run over one lap and after a while the graphics and the commentary to tend to get somewhat repetitive, which is not an issue specific to 10bet by any means.
In terms of the bets you have available, I am reliably informed by my research that there are all the standard bets outlined above available with 10Bet Virtual Greyhounds, however I feel I must report that I do not think this is the most stable of Virtual Sports betting platforms.
The reason for this is that while reviewing Virtual Greyhounds at 10bet, the software had clearly glitched. None of the names of the greyhounds or the odds, or the different bets usually available were showing on the screen. This essentially meant that while you could watch a greyhound race on screen, you could not bet on it. This is a fundamental flaw when you are operating a betting site and as such, it is a pretty serious error when you consider the quality of competition that you are up against.
I don’t know whether I logged into 10Bet at a time when the Virtual Sports services were undergoing some kind of downtime or having work completed on them, but it is a pretty poor showing when you lo in to bet on Virtual Greyhounds and cannot do so. That lacks professionalism and unfortunately, that theme does tend to stand true with 10bet’s Virtual Sports offerings, which look somewhat rushed, uncared for and unprofessional compared to their competitors.
When working, at the end of the race you see the snapshot of the finish line with the three placed finishers displayed on the screen. After which the screen then returns to the developers logo and message while betting is available on the next race (providing the software is working!).
How does 10Bet’s Virtual Greyhounds compare to Betway?
In short, not very well, especially considering that the two products are essentially 95% exactly the same product from the same software developer. At betway, I have never had an issue playing any Virtual Sport, however at 10Bet I have had issues with both Virtual Greyhounds and Virtual Football (as you will discover next week).
The lack of effort put in personalising the presentation also tends to suggest that 10Bet have simply ported the original software direct onto their site as quickly as possible and then just left it in place. That gives the whole Virtual part of the 10Bet site a somewhat unloved and uncared for feel, which is never a positive.
I’m sure when the Virtual Greyhound service at 10bet is working well, then it will work without an issue and can be just as enjoyable, but for me, the service is far less reliable and polished than you would find at Betway or bet365 for that matter.