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

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

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

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

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

For UK companies, which are facing combination, increased online competitors and tougher rules from UK regulators, the timing is especially opportune.

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

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

'Require time'

The US represented 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 wanting to take advantage of 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 wagering.

The judgment found the law was an over-reach of federal power. But the court it did not actually legalise sports betting, leaving that concern to regional lawmakers.

That is expected to lead to substantial variation in how firms get accredited, where sports betting wagering can occur, and which occasions are open to speculation - with big ramifications for the size of the market.

Potential income ranges from $4.2 bn to almost $20bn every year depending upon factors like how many states move to legalise, Oxford Economics estimated in a 2017 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 specialists KPMG.

Now, he said: "I believe the majority of people ... are taking a look 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 some time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, managing director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, predicts that 32 states will legalise sports betting in some form by 2023, developing a market with about $6bn in yearly profits.

But bookies deal with a far different landscape in America than they perform in the UK, where betting shops are a frequent sight.

US laws minimal betting mainly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip till fairly just recently.

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

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

While sports betting wagering is usually viewed in its own category, "it plainly stays to be seen whether it gets the sort of momentum people believe 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 detained in the US in 2006 for running an overseas online sportsbook and served jail time.

Now a consultant, he states UK firms ought to approach the market carefully, picking partners with caution and preventing errors that could result in regulator reaction.

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

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation starts, sports betting wagering companies are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, along with demands by US sports betting leagues, which desire to collect a percentage of profits as an "integrity cost".

International business face the included challenge of a powerful existing gaming market, with casino operators, state-run lottos and Native American people that are seeking to defend their turf.

Analysts say UK firms will need to strike partnerships, providing their know-how and technology in order to make inroads.

They point to SBTech's current statement that it is providing innovation for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the kind of offers 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 stated.

'It will just depend'

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

The business has been purchasing the US market because 2011, when it purchased three US companies to develop a presence in Nevada.

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

It works as risk supervisor 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 actually become a family name in Nevada but that's not always the objective everywhere.

"We definitely mean to have a very significant brand existence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will just depend on guideline and potentially who our regional partner is."

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