The hi-tech gaming and leisure group Inspired Broadcast Network has revealed that almost one in five bets on horse racing in British betting shops are being placed on virtual races.

The company speaks with some authority - Inspired Gaming UK is a major provider of open server-based gaming, leisure and vending platforms. Headquartered in the UK, Inspired has operations in Europe, Australasia and the US, and its software powers a worldwide estate of over 20 000 networked terminals in casinos, betting shops, bingo halls, pubs and shops worldwide, processing over 60 million transactions every month.