It's high stakes for UK companies as sports betting wagering starts to spread out in America.

From Tuesday, new guidelines on wagering entered effect in Delaware, a tiny east coast state about 2 hours from Washington.

Neighbouring New Jersey could start accepting sports betting bets as early as Friday.

The modifications are the first in what might end up being a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the way for states to enable sports wagering.

The industry sees a "when in a generation" chance to develop a brand-new market in sports betting-mad America, stated Dublin-based financial expert David Jennings, who heads leisure research at Davy.

For UK companies, which are grappling with combination, increased online competition and tougher guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is especially appropriate.

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But the industry says depending on the US stays a risky bet, as UK companies deal with complex state-by-state policy and competitors from entrenched regional interests.

"It's something that we're really focusing on, but similarly we don't want to overhype it," said James Midmer, spokesman at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently acquired the US fantasy sports betting site FanDuel.

'Take time'

The US accounted for about 23% of the world's $244bn (₤ 182bn) in gaming income in 2015, according to a report by Technavio, external released in January.

Firms are wanting to use more of that activity after last month's decision, which overruled a 1992 federal law that barred states outside of Nevada and a few others from authorising sports betting.

The judgment found the law was an over-reach of federal power. But the court it did not actually legalise sports betting wagering, leaving that question to local lawmakers.

That is anticipated to cause considerable variation in how firms get certified, where sports wagering can occur, and which occasions are open to speculation - with huge implications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential earnings varieties from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn yearly depending on aspects like how lots of states relocate to legalise, Oxford Economics estimated in a 2017 research study for the American Gaming Association.

"There was a lot of 'this is going to be big'", stated Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for specialists KPMG.

Now, he said: "I believe many people ... are looking at this as, 'it's a chance however it's not going to be $20bn and it's going to be state by state and it's going to take time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, handling director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, anticipates that 32 states will legalise sports wagering in some form by 2023, creating a market with about $6bn in annual earnings.

But bookmakers face a far different landscape in America than they perform in the UK, where betting stores are a regular sight.

US laws minimal gaming mainly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip up until fairly just recently.

In the popular imagination, sports wagering has actually long been linked to a 1919 baseball World Series match-fixing scandal.

States have actually also been sluggish to legalise lots of types of online gaming, in spite of a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to remove challenges.

While sports betting is usually viewed in its own classification, "it clearly stays to be seen whether it gets the sort of momentum people believe it will," said Keith Miller, law teacher at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting wagering regulation.

David Carruthers is the former primary executive of BetonSports, who was jailed in the US in 2006 for running an overseas online sportsbook and served jail time.

Now an expert, he states UK firms ought to approach the market thoroughly, choosing partners with caution and avoiding missteps that could cause regulator backlash.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports betting wagerer ... I'm unsure whether it is an opportunity for business," he says. "It actually is reliant on the result of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the opportunity."

'It will be collaborations'

As legalisation starts, sports betting wagering companies are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, in addition to requests by US sports betting leagues, which wish to gather a percentage of profits as an "stability cost".

International business face the included challenge of a powerful existing video gaming market, with casino operators, state-run lottery games and Native American tribes that are seeking to defend their turf.

Analysts say UK firms will need to strike collaborations, using their know-how and innovation in order to make inroads.

They indicate SBTech's recent announcement that it is providing innovation for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the type of offers likely to materialise.

"It will be a win-win for everybody, but it will be collaborations and it will be driven by innovation," Mr Hawkley stated.

'It will simply depend'

Joe Asher, primary executive at William Hill US, is clear-eyed about the truths.

The business has been investing in the US market considering that 2011, when it acquired three US companies to develop a presence in Nevada.

William Hill now utilizes about 450 individuals in the US and has actually revealed partnerships with casinos in Iowa and New Jersey.

It works as risk supervisor for the Delaware Lottery and has invested millions together with a regional designer in a New Jersey horse racing track.

Mr Asher stated William Hill has actually ended up being a home name in Nevada but that's not necessarily the goal everywhere.

"We certainly plan to have an extremely considerable brand name presence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will just depend upon policy and possibly who our local partner is."

"The US is going to be the biggest sports betting wagering market in the world," he included. "Obviously that's not going to occur on the first day."