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

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

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

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

The market sees a "as soon as in a generation" opportunity to develop a new market in sports betting-mad America, said Dublin-based monetary analyst David Jennings, who heads leisure research study at Davy.

For UK companies, which are facing combination, increased online competition and harder rules from UK regulators, the timing is particularly suitable.

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

"It's something that we're actually concentrating on, however similarly we don't want to overhype it," said James Midmer, spokesman at Paddy Power Betfair, which recently purchased the US dream sports betting website FanDuel.

'Take time'

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

Firms are wishing to use more of that activity after last month's choice, which struck down a 1992 federal law that disallowed 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 really legalise sports betting, leaving that question to local legislators.

That is expected to result in considerable variation in how firms get accredited, where sports betting wagering can occur, and which events are open to speculation - with huge ramifications for the size of the market.

Potential revenue varieties from $4.2 bn to almost $20bn every year depending on factors like the number of states relocate to legalise, Oxford Economics estimated in a 2017 research study for the American Gaming Association.

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

Now, he stated: "I believe many individuals ... 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, managing director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, forecasts that 32 states will legalise sports betting in some form by 2023, creating a market with about $6bn in yearly profits.

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

US laws limited betting largely to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip until reasonably just recently.

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

States have likewise been slow to legalise many kinds of online betting, despite a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to eliminate barriers.

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

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

Now an expert, he states UK firms ought to approach the marketplace carefully, picking partners with care and avoiding bad moves that might lead to regulator reaction.

"This is a chance for the American sports betting bettor ... I'm uncertain whether it is a chance for business," he says. "It actually depends on the result of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the chance."

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation begins, sports wagering companies are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, in addition to demands by US sports leagues, which wish to gather a portion of revenue as an "stability charge".

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

Analysts say UK companies will require to strike partnerships, offering their know-how and technology in order to make inroads.

They indicate SBTech's current announcement that it is providing 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 collaborations and it will be driven by technology," Mr Hawkley stated.

'It will just depend'

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

The company 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 announced partnerships with gambling establishments in Iowa and New Jersey.

It works as threat manager for the Delaware Lottery and has invested millions together with a local 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 objective everywhere.

"We definitely intend to have a really significant brand name in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will simply depend upon regulation and possibly who our regional partner is."

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