Global online bookmaker bet365 has paid out £30m to users through its ‘Sub On Play On’ promotion during the opening 11 days of the 2026 World Cup, with substitutes delivering a series of winners for customers.
The promotion allows player bets to continue even if the original selection is substituted, with the player selection simply replaced by the player which they have been substituted off for.
As we approach day 14 of the summer footballing bonanza, bet365 analysts have told SBC News that several impactful cameos in group stage games have already led to significant payouts before the beginning of this week.
Which players have cost bet365?
According to bet365, France’s Bradley Barcola replacing Ousmane Dembélé in a 3-1 win against Senegal proved the most expensive substitution for the operator so far, as the winger replaced his PSG teammate on Tuesday night before popping up with a misery compiler to make the score 2-0.
Other major returns came from Crysencio Summerville, who came on for Donyell Malen and scored and assisted for the Netherlands against Sweden, while Marcus Rashford rewarded Anthony Gordon backers after coming on in England’s opening match and scoring the fourth in the 4-2 defeat of Croatia.
Germany’s Deniz Undav has also generated sizable payouts despite featuring for just 56 minutes during the tournament, having scored once against Curaçao before bagging a brace in a 2-1 win over the Ivory Coast – both times as a substitute.
Steve Freeth, bet365’s Sports and Trading Expert, said: “10 days in and we’re already up to £30m – you can see why it’s a customer favourite.
“Bradley Barcola replacing Ousmane Dembele against Senegal has proved to be costliest so far, while Crysencio Summerville’s impact after coming on for Donyell Malen – scoring and assisting versus Sweden – was another big one.
“Anthony Gordon backers would’ve been delighted to see Marcus Rashford shine in the England opener and Deniz Undav is costing us a fair few quid despite only playing 56 minutes at the tournament so far.”
Super Sub is here to stay
The ‘Sub On Play On’ feature from bet365 – and others of a similar ilk from bookmakers including Paddy Power, Sky Bet, BoyleSports and William Hill – have added a new dimension to football bet builders since being introduced.
It was Paddy Power, a subsidiary of Flutter Entertainment, that pioneered the movement, launching its ‘Super Sub’ promotion in 2024.
And it didn’t take long for the likes of bet365, evoke’s William Hill and Paddy Power’s fellow Flutter-owned operator Sky Bet to follow suit, as the operators launched their own versions of the promotion.
Just over a year ago, following the announcement of some listed companies’ financial results, speculation was rife as to how the promotions had affected operators’ margins.
Eoin Ryan, Director of Sportsbook and eGaming at BVGroup, took to LinkedIn in March 2025 to say: “I would love to see some data on what Super Sub does to builder margins at PP.
“We took a look at it, and it was pretty much an extinction level event on margin.”
However, despite the potentially negative impact it may have had on operators’ bottom lines exclusively from player markets, there is no doubt that the features have become hugely popular with punters, and are becoming somewhat of an essential product for UK bookmakers.
This was seen during the 2024 European Championships, when Paddy Power doubled the volume of sportsbook stakes on player markets during the tournament compared to the 2022 World Cup, following its introduction in March of that year.
Super boosts have also become commonplace on the platforms of the bookmakers mentioned, whereby a heavy odds-on selection is generally boosted to evens.
Three of the six super boosts offered by bet365 to UK customers have landed so far in this tournament, with rumours of the widespread bet365 super boost jinx popping up again, while it has been a different story across some of its other markets.
Success of bet365 super boosts across different countries:
- Brazil: 5/7
- Spain: 4/4
- US: 4/6
- UK: 3/6
- France: 2/6
- Germany: 1/4
With over 17% of ‘outright winner’ bets in the UK being placed on England, patriotism from some of the nation may only be fuelled further.
But it may be player props that punters are looking out for on the back of this information, with the mammoth £30m figure paid out from the ‘Sub On Play On’ promotion potentially swaying customers who would otherwise look at outright markets towards those such as player bookings, shots on target or goalscorers.
Top five returns from bet365’s ‘Sub On Play On’ from the first 11 days of the World Cup:
- France vs Senegal – Bradley Barcola replacing Ousmane Dembélé
- Netherlands vs Sweden – Crysencio Summerville replacing Donyell Malen
- New Zealand vs Egypt – Mahmoud Trezeguet replacing Omar Marmoush
- England vs Croatia – Marcus Rashford replacing Anthony Gordon
- Germany vs Ivory Coast – Deniz Undav replacing Jamal Musiala
