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

From Tuesday, new rules on betting came into effect in Delaware, a small east coast state about 2 hours from Washington.

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

The changes are the very first in what could become a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the way for states to permit sports wagering.

The market sees a "as soon as in a generation" opportunity to establish 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 facing combination, increased online competitors and harder guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is particularly appropriate.

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But the industry states counting on the US remains a risky bet, as UK business deal with complicated state-by-state guideline and competition from established regional interests.

"It's something that we're truly focusing on, but equally we don't wish to overhype it," said James Midmer, representative at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently bought the US fantasy sports betting site FanDuel.

'Take time'

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

Firms are wanting 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 few others from authorising sports betting wagering.

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 regional legislators.

That is anticipated to cause substantial variation in how firms get accredited, where sports betting can take place, and which occasions are open to speculation - with big ramifications for the size of the market.

Potential earnings varieties from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn annually depending on elements like the number of states relocate to legalise, Oxford Economics approximated in a 2017 study for the American Gaming Association.

"There was a great deal of 'this is going to be huge'", stated Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for consultants 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, predicts that 32 states will legalise sports betting wagering in some type by 2023, creating a market with about $6bn in yearly earnings.

But bookies deal with a far different landscape in America than they do in the UK, where wagering stores are a regular sight.

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

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

States have actually likewise been sluggish to legalise many forms of online gaming, regardless of a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to remove obstacles.

While sports betting wagering is generally seen in its own category, "it plainly remains to be seen whether it gets the type of momentum individuals think it will," stated Keith Miller, law teacher at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting guideline.

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

Now a specialist, he says UK firms ought to approach the market carefully, choosing partners with care and avoiding errors that might lead to regulator reaction.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports gambler ... I'm unsure whether it is a chance for business," he says. "It truly is dependent on the result of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the opportunity."

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation begins, sports betting wagering companies are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, along with requests by US sports betting leagues, which wish to collect a percentage of income as an "integrity charge".

International business face the included obstacle of an effective existing gaming market, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lotteries and Native American people that are seeking to defend their turf.

Analysts state UK firms will need to strike partnerships, providing their proficiency and innovation in order to make inroads.

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

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

'It will simply depend'

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

The company has actually been buying the US market considering that 2011, when it purchased 3 US firms to develop a presence in Nevada.

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

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

Mr Asher said William Hill has ended up being a home name in Nevada however that's not necessarily the objective everywhere.

"We definitely intend to have a very substantial brand existence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will simply depend on policy and possibly who our local partner is."

"The US is going to be the most significant sports betting market in the world," he included. "Obviously that's not going to happen on day one."