Betting from your phone is no longer a novelty. It’s the default. In 2026, that’s true across the US and beyond, and the trend keeps climbing. Global sports betting revenue hit roughly $88 billion last year, driven by state-by-state legalization and sportsbook apps that keep getting easier to use.
Horse racing has felt this shift as much as any sport. Mobile wagering has opened up new bet types and given players more ways to engage with a race than a paper ticket ever could. The reach keeps expanding too, with more states bringing regulated mobile racing markets online every year, adding to an already crowded field of licensed operators across the country.
Two developments stand out above the rest: the arrival of micro-betting, and the surging popularity of virtual racing.
Why micro-betting is taking over horse racing
Micro-betting used to sound like a bit of a gimmick, but now it’s mainstream, popular, and a lot of fun. The format lets bettors wager on narrow, short-window moments inside a larger event, think one quarter of a football game or a single at-bat in baseball.
Horse racing has adopted the same logic. Bettors aren’t limited to pre-race wagers anymore; they can bet as the race actually unfolds. Furlong-by-furlong betting is now a real option, delivering a pace and intensity that traditional win-place-show tickets never offered.
None of this works without processing speed. Modern phones can refresh odds almost instantly, cutting the latency that used to make live wagering impractical. That speed is also pulling in a younger audience. Gen Z bettors expect the same rapid-fire pacing they get from video games, and micro-betting delivers exactly that.
All sorts of sports betting sites like bet365 now offer microbetting on top of more traditional betting on outright markets. Modern technology has enabled a whole new world of betting, making every furlong count at the races.
Virtual horse racing is having a moment
Virtual racing is the other big story, and it’s tied to the same younger demographic driving micro-betting. Real races don’t run around the clock. Race days are often weekend-only, and even then, gaps between live races can run close to 30 minutes. Virtual racing fills that dead time.
These races are typically 3D-rendered within a sportsbook or casino app, with outcomes decided by a random number generator rather than actual horses. Adoption is climbing fast, up 38% year-over-year, with younger bettors again leading the charge as the quickest to embrace new betting formats.
Virtual sports wagering is already a billion-dollar category, and given the pace of adoption, it’s on track to keep growing well beyond that.
