Just a month into its launch, bet365 appears to have found a strong performer for customer acquisition and engagement, particularly after a period of highly competitive and unpredictable Premier League fixtures.
A series of major payouts involving matches featuring Arsenal, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United and others has strengthened bet365’s belief in its recently launched ‘Sub On, Sub Off’ feature.
Introduced last month, ‘Sub On, Sub Off’ allows a bettor’s wager on a specific player – such as a bet on Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka to score – to transfer to the player’s replacement if they are substituted during the game.
While bet365 was not the first to bring this concept to market – Paddy Power introduced it with its ‘Super Sub’ feature, followed by William Hill’s ‘Impact Sub’ – the concept has been widely referred to in industry circles as ‘Super Subs’ after Paddy Power’s original launch.
A Major Boost to Customer Engagement
Just a month into its launch, bet365 appears to have found a strong performer for customer acquisition and engagement, particularly after a period of highly competitive and unpredictable Premier League fixtures.
To date, over 250,000 customers worldwide have used the product, with the company paying out more than £18 million in winnings. While this may sound like a considerable amount, it is a relatively small sum against the firm’s £3.72 billion revenue recorded in 2024 – and the customer engagement benefits are likely to outweigh any financial downside.
Steve Freeth, bet365’s Sports and Trading Expert, commented:
“It’s been a really good addition to our portfolio, and it’s been well received by our customers, having paid out just over £18m over the first month.”
“In total, 3.2m slips have benefitted from the promotion, with Aston Villa proving the costliest team in the Premier League.”
The ‘Sub On’ feature is available across bet365’s full range of player betting markets – often referred to as ‘player props’ in the expanding American market – and not just for goalscorer bets. Punters can apply it to specific scenarios such as a player to score with a header or from outside the box, as well as to other markets including bookings, assists, shots on target, tackles and fouls.
Aston Villa has emerged as a favourite among ‘Sub On, Sub Off’ bettors, with the club’s improved squad depth under Unai Emery providing punters with strong cover if their original selection is substituted.
The Villans’ 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest earlier this month proved particularly rewarding for one bettor, who landed a £1,000 win, according to bet365. Other examples included a bet on Bukayo Saka that rolled onto Ethan Nwaneri during Arsenal’s 4-0 triumph over Ipswich.
Freeth added:
“Villa fans must be rubbing their eyes at the quality that Unai Emery is now able to turn to when changing the game, and we’ve seen some big payouts in the recent games versus Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Newcastle.”
“Our most expensive payout to date was £1.4m, paid out on the Forest game to be exact when Marcus Rashford replaced Ollie Watkins on 62 minutes and then had a Shot on Target which caused the real damage, while Jota Silva coming on for Anthony Elanga and scoring added to the pain.”