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

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

Neighbouring New Jersey could start accepting sports 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 enable sports wagering.

The industry sees a "when in a generation" opportunity to develop a brand-new market in sports-mad America, stated Dublin-based financial expert David Jennings, who heads leisure research at Davy.

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

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But the market states counting on the US stays a risky bet, as UK business face complicated state-by-state regulation and competitors from entrenched regional interests.

"It's something that we're actually focusing on, however similarly we don't desire to overhype it," stated James Midmer, representative at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently bought the US dream sports site FanDuel.

'Take some 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 released in January.

Firms are intending 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 couple of others from authorising sports betting.

The ruling discovered 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 anticipated to result in substantial variation in how firms get accredited, where sports wagering can take place, and which events are open to speculation - with huge implications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential profits varieties from $4.2 bn to practically $20bn annually depending on factors like the number of states move to legalise, Oxford Economics approximated in a 2017 study for the American Gaming Association.

"There was a lot of 'this is going to be big'", stated Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for consultants 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 time'."

'Remains to be seen"

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

But bookies face a far different landscape in America than they carry out in the UK, where wagering stores are a regular sight.

US laws limited gaming mostly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip up until reasonably just recently.

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

States have likewise been slow to legalise lots of types of online gaming, despite a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to remove barriers.

While sports betting is generally viewed in its own classification, "it clearly stays to be seen whether it gets the sort of momentum people 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 chief executive of BetonSports, who was jailed in the US in 2006 for running an overseas online sportsbook and served jail time.

Now a specialist, he states UK companies ought to approach the market thoroughly, choosing partners with care and avoiding mistakes that could lead to regulator reaction.

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

'It will be collaborations'

As legalisation begins, sports wagering companies are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, as well as requests by US sports leagues, which want to collect a portion of profits as an "stability cost".

International business deal with the added challenge of a powerful existing video gaming industry, with casino operators, state-run lottery games and Native American people that are looking for to safeguard their grass.

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

They indicate SBTech's recent statement that it is supplying 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, but it will be partnerships and it will be driven by technology," Mr Hawkley stated.

'It will just depend'

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

The business has been buying the US market given that 2011, when it bought three US firms to develop an existence in Nevada.

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

It works as risk supervisor for the Delaware Lottery and has invested millions together with a local designer in a New Jersey horse racing track.

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

"We definitely intend to have an extremely significant brand existence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will just depend upon regulation and potentially who our regional partner is."

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