4.8 Million Tune In To Virtual Grand National
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The Grand National was just one of the many sporting events to be cancelled in 2020, step up The Virtual Grand National.
Although the virtual version has been run since 2017 it’s only this year that it’s made the headlines and has drawn huge viewing figures. To give some perspective, around 10 millions Britons tune into the regular Grand National annually - this year, the Virtual Grand National had a whopping 4.8 million viewers.
However, it’s not just horse racing that’s gone virtual, let’s take a look at some other virtual sporting events and their viewing figures:
| Virtual Grand National | 4.8 Million viewers |
| Virtual F1 (Melbourne GP) | 3.2 Million viewers |
| Virtual MotoGP (Mugello) | 3 Million viewers |
Virtual sports have been around for years either in the form of eSports (FIFA) or virtual sports shown in bookmakers (horse racing, greyhounds, etc). However, with the cancellation of the majority of regular sporting events the virtual world seems to have taken a giant leap forward by gaining the backing of the corporations (F1, MotoGP, etc) and gaining an almost instant audience.
What remains to be seen is how ‘sticky’ virtual sports are for the general public - interest is high at the moment, is this because of the lack of regular sports and the novelty? Or will virtual sports be adopted and accepted as a sport in their own right?
Here at BetVirtual.co we’re excited by the direction the industry is heading.
