SIMS Sports Betting |Bodog

Everything You Need to Know About SIMS Sports Betting

Thanks to sim sports betting, you don’t need to wait until major league sports resume their schedules to get some betting action. NBA, NHL and NFL games are available for betting right now, with the latter two using CPU simulations. Simply fill up your bet slip with sports sims odds, and watch the action unroll in real time via Twitch. This comprehensive guide will cover the finer points of simulated sports betting at Bodog Sportsbook, including an explanation on what this new product entails and how it works.

What is Sim Betting?

Short for simulated betting, sim betting uses video games to create matchups between teams in major leagues that people can bet on. After placing your bet, you can watch the game live through a Twitch stream. You may be familiar with Madden NFL 20 already; this is the video game used for our football sim betting. As for hockey, we use NHL 20, which offers exceptional graphics. Computers control the play for both of these betting options. Basketball sim betting is an exception, as it’s part of an eSports league that uses NBA2K20, so in this case, people are controlling the players.

Whether your preference is for NFL, NHL or NBA, all feature the same teams and players from the actual leagues, and therefore the team’s strengths and weaknesses are reflected in the simulated team. All rosters are updated to reflect the teams at the end of the 2019-2020 seasons, so the latest draft won’t be taken into account, i.e. you won’t be able to get Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Once the game begins, you can watch it live in our sportsbook, using Twitch for the streaming platform, or you can watch a recap at a later time. NFL games have 15-minute quarters.

Sim betting rules are the same as our traditional sports bets, so if you already know how to bet on NFL games, you’re golden, and you can begin trying to beat the sports sims Vegas odds right away. Each sim has a spread, moneyline, total and several props included in the gameline. If you’re new to sports betting, we’ve got you covered; we’ll go over how these straight bets work, starting with spread betting.

Sims Spread Betting

Even though computer software runs the simulated games, they can still be handicapped with a spread. The game developers did a good job identifying each team and player’s strengths and weaknesses and incorporating it into the simulated team.

Betting on the spread is the same with sim betting as it is with traditional betting; it gives the underdog an advantage, and the favourite a handicap. This margin of victory states how many points/goals the favoured team must beat the underdog by in order for bets to pay out. If the favourite fails to cover the spread, or loses straight up, the underdog bets win.

An example of a simulated game between the San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots has the Patriots as 1.5-point favourites, with the vigorish on both sides listed as —115. In order to win $100 off a Patriots $115 bet, they’d need to beat the 49ers by at least two points. If San Francisco loses by a single point (or wins), the 49ers cover the spread.

Sim Moneyline Betting

Sim moneyline betting doesn’t include a spread. As long as your pick wins, you win. And how much you win depends on the moneyline odds. For example, a game between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets has Minnesota listed as a —250 favourite on the moneyline vs. the +185 Jets. A $250 bet on Minnesota would pay $100, whereas a $100 bet on the Jets would pay $185.

Sports Sim Total Betting

Just like with traditional sports betting, simulated sports betting includes totals in the sports sims lines. This is the total number of points/goals scored in a game by both teams combined. For NFL sim betting, there’s a total for the game, for the first half, and for the first quarter. For NBA betting, there’s a total for the game and another one for the first half only. Here’s an example of what an NFL sim total looks like in our sportsbook:

San Francisco 49ers O 55.0 (—115)

New England Patriots U 55.0 (—115)

In 2019-20, San Francisco and New England were in the top-seven for points scored, which is why the total for this simulated game is a sky-high 55. The “O” is for betting that the total score will go over 55, while the “U” is for betting the total score will go under 55. If the two teams combine for a total of 55 points, the result is a push, and all bets are returned.

Other Sports Bets Available

Beyond the three straight bets mentioned above, our simulated NFL games have props included. To find them, open up the game line to see all of the bets available. You can typically bet on which player will score the first touchdown, with a list of all possible candidates (based on the roster at the end of the 2019-20 season) for both teams. Special teams/defense props make it possible to bet on whether or not you think the defense or special teams of either side will score during the game. There are also props for the game going to overtime, and you can bet on which team you think will score first.

Sim betting has already gained a lot of traction in the sportsbook, as people look for alternative ways to bet on sports. Check out the recaps of some of the past games for an idea of how life-like the graphics are. Sometimes just seeing your favourite player make an incredible play is enough to get pumped up and join the action.