‘Sub On Play On’ scores £16.3m payout for bet365 bettors

UK bookmaker bet365 reported a record payout for its innovative ‘Sub On Play On’ feature during the UEFA Nations League semi-final between Spain and France on 5 June.

Essentially, ‘Sub On Play On’ allows player-centric bets to continue once the individual has been taken off the field of play by rolling statistics over to their replacement.

Love football? Find the best football betting sites and bet with welcome bonuses today.

If the substitute achieves the bet’s targets, winnings are paid out as normal. 

While bet365 had hoped that this feature would increase the lifespan for bet builders, the operator did not anticipate such a momentous one-game outlay.

The nine-goal thriller culminated in a £16.3million payout to bettors – with group spokesperson, Steve Freeth, outlining the unique set of circumstances that led to this “extremely painful” outcome: 

“We knew it was a record payout, but the breakdown has shown that £16.3m of it was due to the Sub On Play On offer alone – demonstrating yet again that bet365 have outstanding concessions.

"Clearly, a game with nine goals and 17 shots on target was going to be extremely painful on the Bet Builder front, especially with the subs replacing high-profile players who hadn’t contributed.”

One such example came by way of Rayan Cherki, who replaced Michael Olise just past the hour mark. Manchester City’s new signing snagged a goal and an assist – accomplishments that his Bayern Munich compatriot failed to attain.

Freeth also pointed to high-profile Ballon d’Or contenders, like Ousmane Dembele, being replaced by impactful substitutes: "Any player who is odds-on for the Ballon d’Or tends to be very popular and we breathed a sigh of relief when Ousmane Dembele went off with 15 minutes to go after only having had 2 shots on target, only to see his replacement Kolo Muani hitting the back of the net, which also added to the shots on target count for Dembele backers.”

Moreover, Freeth attributed one of the “biggest swings” in favour of bettors to Samu Omorodion’s performance. The 21-year-old came on for Mikel Oyorzabal in the 77th minute – and went on to notch a crucial shot on target. 

Two additional substitutes, Dani Vivian and Fabian Ruiz, also contributed to the payout by committing one foul each. 

The titanic result dug a hole in bet365’s pocket – and Freeth expressed that the firm would rather not deal with such significant player takings in the future: “Throw in goals, shots on target and assists from players like Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams and you get a monster payout that hopefully doesn’t happen very often!"

‘Sub On Play On’ is available across a variety of popular football betting markets, including goals, shots on target, fouls, headed goals, next goalscorer and player assists, among others.

Open for competitive football fixtures, this feature only applies to 90-minute outcomes. 

Bettors can take advantage of ‘Sub On Play On’ throughout the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup – with Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and other big-name players competing in the new-look tournament.