Over the past few years, online publishers have turned to commerce marketing as an important source of revenue. Now some publishers that specialize in sports, like The Athletic and AT&T’s Bleacher Report, are looking at doing similar deals around online sports betting, according to people familiar with the situation.

Online betting is taking off as a growing number of states legalize it. That offers an opportunity for sports media sites to negotiate partnerships with online betting sites, in which the media sites will refer their readers in exchange for a cut of any betting revenue that results. The Athletic has had talks about striking similar kinds of deals with betting sites, while Bleacher Report is also contemplating such deals.