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

From Tuesday, brand-new guidelines on wagering entered result in Delaware, a tiny east coast state about two hours from Washington.

Neighbouring New Jersey could begin accepting sports bets as early as Friday.

The modifications are the very first in what might end up being a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the method for states to allow sports betting.

The market sees a "once in a generation" opportunity to develop a new market in sports betting-mad America, stated Dublin-based financial analyst David Jennings, who heads leisure research at Davy.

For UK companies, which are grappling with consolidation, increased online competition and harder guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is especially opportune.

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But the market says counting on the US remains a risky bet, as UK business face complicated state-by-state regulation and competition from established regional interests.

"It's something that we're really focusing on, however equally we do not desire to overhype it," stated James Midmer, spokesperson at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently bought the US fantasy sports site FanDuel.

'Require time'

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

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

The judgment discovered the law was an over-reach of federal power. But the court it did not really legalise sports wagering, leaving that concern to local legislators.

That is expected to cause significant variation in how companies get certified, where sports wagering can happen, and which occasions are open to speculation - with big implications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential profits varieties from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn every year depending upon elements like how lots of states move to legalise, Oxford Economics approximated in a 2017 study for the American Gaming Association.

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

Now, he stated: "I believe the majority of people ... are taking a look at this as, 'it's a chance but it's not going to be $20bn and it's going to be state by state and it's going to require time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, managing director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, anticipates that 32 states will legalise sports betting in some kind by 2023, creating a market with about $6bn in yearly income.

But bookmakers deal with a far various landscape in America than they perform in the UK, where wagering shops are a regular sight.

US laws limited gaming largely to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip up until relatively recently.

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

States have also been sluggish to legalise numerous kinds of online gaming, despite a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to remove challenges.

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

David Carruthers is the previous chief executive of BetonSports, who was apprehended in the US in 2006 for running an offshore online sportsbook and served jail time.

Now a specialist, he says UK firms should approach the market carefully, choosing partners with care and avoiding errors that could cause regulator reaction.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports wagerer ... I'm unsure whether it is a chance for company," he states. "It really depends on the result of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the opportunity."

'It will be collaborations'

As legalisation starts, sports betting wagering firms are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, along with requests by US sports leagues, which want to gather a percentage of revenue as an "stability fee".

International business deal with the included difficulty of an effective existing video gaming industry, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lotteries and Native American tribes that are seeking to defend their grass.

Analysts state UK companies will require to strike collaborations, offering their expertise and innovation in order to make inroads.

They point to SBTech's recent announcement that it is supplying technology for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the sort of offers most likely to materialise.

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

'It will simply depend'

Joe Asher, president at William Hill US, is clear-eyed about the realities.

The business has been investing in the US market considering that 2011, when it bought 3 US firms to establish an existence in Nevada.

William Hill now employs about 450 individuals in the US and has revealed partnerships with gambling establishments in Iowa and New Jersey.

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

Mr Asher stated William Hill has actually become a family name in Nevada but that's not always the goal everywhere.

"We definitely mean to have a really substantial brand name presence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will simply depend upon guideline and potentially who our local partner is."

"The US is going to be the biggest sports wagering market on the planet," he added. "Obviously that's not going to happen on the first day."