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

From Tuesday, brand-new guidelines on betting entered into impact in Delaware, a small east coast state about 2 hours from Washington.

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

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

The market sees a "when in a generation" chance to establish a new market in sports-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 tougher rules from UK regulators, the timing is particularly opportune.

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But the market states depending on the US stays a risky bet, as UK companies face complex state-by-state regulation and competition from entrenched regional interests.

"It's something that we're really concentrating on, but similarly we do not want to overhype it," stated James Midmer, representative at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently bought the US fantasy sports website FanDuel.

'Take time'

The US accounted for about 23% of the world's $244bn (₤ 182bn) in video gaming earnings last year, according to a report by Technavio, external published in January.

Firms are hoping 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 ruling found the law was an over-reach of federal power. But the court it did not in fact legalise sports betting, leaving that question to local lawmakers.

That is expected to cause substantial variation in how companies get accredited, where sports wagering can happen, and which events are open to speculation - with big ramifications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential income ranges from $4.2 bn to almost $20bn each year depending upon elements like how many 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'", said Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for experts KPMG.

Now, he said: "I think many 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 take some time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, managing director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, forecasts that 32 states will legalise sports wagering in some type by 2023, producing a market with about $6bn in yearly revenue.

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

US laws minimal gaming largely to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip till reasonably just recently.

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

States have likewise been sluggish to legalise lots of kinds of online betting, regardless of a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to eliminate challenges.

While sports betting is usually seen in its own classification, "it clearly remains to be seen whether it gets the sort of momentum individuals think it will," said Keith Miller, law professor at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting policy.

David Carruthers is the former president of BetonSports, who was jailed in the US in 2006 for running an offshore online sportsbook and served prison time.

Now a specialist, he says UK companies ought to approach the marketplace thoroughly, picking partners with caution and preventing mistakes that could lead to regulator backlash.

"This is a chance for the American sports bettor ... I'm not sure whether it is an opportunity for organization," he states. "It truly is dependent on the result of [state] legislation and how the business operators pursue the chance."

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation starts, sports wagering firms are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, as well as requests by US sports leagues, which want to collect a percentage of revenue as an "integrity fee".

International companies deal with the included obstacle of an effective existing gaming market, 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 partnerships, offering their know-how and innovation in order to make inroads.

They indicate SBTech's recent announcement that it is offering innovation for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the kind 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 technology," Mr Hawkley said.

'It will just depend'

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

The company has been purchasing the US market since 2011, when it acquired three US firms to establish a presence in Nevada.

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

It works as danger 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 ended up being a home name in Nevada however that's not necessarily the objective everywhere.

"We definitely intend to have an extremely considerable brand existence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will simply depend on guideline and possibly who our regional partner is."

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