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

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

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

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

The industry sees a "once in a generation" chance to establish a new market in sports-mad America, stated Dublin-based monetary analyst David Jennings, who heads leisure research study at Davy.

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

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But the market states depending on the US stays a dangerous bet, as UK companies deal with complex state-by-state regulation and competitors from established local interests.

"It's something that we're truly focusing on, but similarly we do not want to overhype it," said James Midmer, spokesperson at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently purchased the US dream sports site FanDuel.

'Take time'

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

Firms are hoping to take advantage of more of that activity after last month's decision, which overruled a 1992 federal law that disallowed states beyond Nevada and a few 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 question to local lawmakers.

That is expected to lead to substantial variation in how firms get licensed, where sports betting can happen, and which occasions are open to speculation - with huge ramifications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential earnings varieties from $4.2 bn to practically $20bn yearly depending on elements like how many states transfer 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 experts KPMG.

Now, he stated: "I believe most people ... are looking 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 take some time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, handling director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, predicts that 32 states will legalise sports betting in some form by 2023, producing a market with about $6bn in annual revenue.

But bookies deal with a far various landscape in America than they carry out in the UK, where betting stores are a regular sight.

US laws limited gambling mostly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip till fairly just recently.

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

States have also been slow to legalise many types of online betting, in spite of a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to remove obstacles.

While sports wagering is normally viewed in its own category, "it clearly remains to be seen whether it gets the kind of momentum individuals believe it will," stated Keith Miller, law teacher at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports wagering guideline.

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

Now an expert, he says UK firms ought to approach the marketplace thoroughly, selecting partners with caution and preventing bad moves that might cause regulator backlash.

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

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation starts, sports betting firms are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, as well as requests by US sports leagues, which wish to collect a percentage of profits as an "integrity charge".

International companies face the included challenge of a powerful existing video gaming market, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lottery games and Native American people that are looking for to defend their grass.

Analysts say UK companies will need to strike partnerships, using their proficiency and technology 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 type of deals most likely to materialise.

"It will be a win-win for everybody, however it will be partnerships and it will be driven by innovation," Mr Hawkley said.

'It will just 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 bought three US companies to develop an existence in Nevada.

William Hill now employs about 450 people in the US and has actually announced collaborations with gambling establishments in Iowa and New Jersey.

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

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

"We certainly mean to have a very considerable brand name existence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will simply depend upon guideline and possibly who our regional partner is."

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