How online gambling sites aim to turn your sports debates into bets

If you're a sports fan, you're no stranger to debates.

The Raptors have the best homecourt advantage in the NBA. Auston Matthews scores most of his goals at the beginning of games. Scottie Scheffler is going to bogey the 12th hole at Augusta on Sunday.

Those are the types of opinions that could only be argued anecdotally in the past. But sportsbooks, which legally entered the Ontario arena last week, aim to aid those debates with increased information.

Dale Hooper, general manager of the online gambling site FanDuel in Canada, said his goal is to help create content and drive narratives for sports fans.

Vijay Setlur, a marketing instructor at York University's business school, added the part that Hooper didn't: the point of the extra information is to convert fans into gamblers.

"He's right when it comes to the heightened storytelling which improves fan engagement. But there's no certainty that that's going to lead to the conversion that they're looking to achieve," Setlur said.

Hooper said the information enriches the fan experience, regardless of whether there's any money at stake.

"All of these conversations of Auston Matthews on his way to 60 goals, it's really interesting stuff. Where does he score them from? What time of the game does he score them at? What's the score at when he scores those goals? If we can tell those narratives, you don't have to be a bettor to make the game experience improved," Hooper said.

FanDuel recently signed partnership agreements with the NHL and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), which owns the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Argonauts, Marlies and TFC. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation also inked a deal with the NHL, as did PokerStars.

As more teams and leagues buy into sports