With COVID-19 still running amok in the United States and causing the closure of land-based casinos, bettors are stuck at the house with no sports to bet on. Top online sportsbooks are now featuring new methods of targeting the sports betting market: virtual sports, esports, and odds on Madden NFL simulations.
No longer are Madden simulation games simply an indicator of potential outcomes. People can actually bet on the results, and it is becoming the next online betting trend for 18+ bettors.
That’s right; two computer-controlled teams face off using final 2019 season rosters on Madden 2020. Teams are announced prior to the game beginning, and live feeds of the simulations can be viewed via a Live Football Sims page on Twitch TV’s website.
Odds are offered in traditional NFL game betting line format, with American odds, a spread, and an over/under.
NFL 2020 SIMS – LIVE BETTING ODDS
Dallas Cowboys (-4.5) @ Philadelphia Eagles
- Straight: Cowboys -215, Eagles +160
- Total: 54.5
Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings (-2.5)
- Straight: Lions +105, Vikings -135
- Total: 51.5
Madden games are set to play on 15-minute quarters and are in All-Madden mode, so games typically last in excess of an hour. The Bleacher Report has chimed in on which All-Time Madden rosters offer the most advantage.
Some online bettors may find that this is a step too far in this age of self-isolation and stay-at-home boredom, but sportsbooks, both online and off, have been featuring betting on simulation gameplay for many years now.
Betting on virtual sports is a rising phenomenon and was first implemented in the early 1960s. The category encompasses any contest that involves the inputting of randomly generated data that produces a visual result.
In the early days of virtual sports, the visual results were a printout of code that was only readable by a select few experts. Nowadays, the result is provided via a video-game-like interface, with some sportsbooks even providing live commentary to add to the realism.
It was only a matter of time before betting on popular sports games were going to pick up steam, and with the world sitting at home during a global pandemic, it has finally happened.
Although betting sites offer excellent graphical interfaces that are arcade-like in appearance, they are in no way a comparison to the games produced by leading video games companies, such as EA or 2K Sports.
There has yet to be any word issued from EA Sports, the creators of the Madden 2020 video game, regarding disallowing the practice of betting on their games, and simulations are still ongoing as of this writing. Betting lines are available on most major online sportsbooks, and with real sports on the shelf, don’t expect the simulations to go anywhere unless EA demands it.
Stay tuned to the latest in Casino 18 developments for new avenues of betting audiences in the Millenial and Gen Z U.S. demographic.