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

From Tuesday, brand-new guidelines on betting entered result 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 modifications are the very first in what might become a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the way for states to permit sports wagering.

The industry sees a "as soon as in a generation" opportunity to establish a brand-new market in sports-mad America, said Dublin-based monetary expert David Jennings, who heads leisure research at Davy.

For UK companies, which are facing consolidation, increased online competition and tougher rules from UK regulators, the timing is particularly opportune.

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But the market says relying on the US stays a risky bet, as UK business deal with complex state-by-state regulation and competition from entrenched regional interests.

"It's something that we're truly concentrating on, but equally we don't desire to overhype it," said James Midmer, spokesman at Paddy Power Betfair, which recently acquired the US fantasy sports website FanDuel.

'Take time'

The US represented about 23% of the world's $244bn (₤ 182bn) in gaming profits in 2015, 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 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 in fact legalise sports wagering, leaving that question to regional lawmakers.

That is anticipated to lead to considerable variation in how companies get certified, where sports betting can take place, and which occasions are open to speculation - with huge ramifications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential earnings ranges from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn every year depending upon aspects like how lots of states relocate to legalise, Oxford Economics estimated in a 2017 study for the American Gaming Association.

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

Now, he stated: "I think the majority of individuals ... 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, developing a market with about $6bn in yearly earnings.

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

US laws limited betting mostly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip up until relatively recently.

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

States have also been slow to legalise lots of kinds of online gambling, despite a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to get rid of obstacles.

While sports betting is typically viewed in its own category, "it plainly remains to be seen whether it gets the kind of momentum people believe it will," said Keith Miller, law teacher at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting policy.

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

Now a specialist, he states UK companies should approach the marketplace thoroughly, picking partners with caution and preventing missteps that could cause regulator backlash.

"This is a chance for the American sports gambler ... I'm not exactly sure whether it is a chance for company," he states. "It truly depends on the outcome of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the opportunity."

'It will be collaborations'

As legalisation starts, sports betting companies are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, along with requests by US sports leagues, which want to gather a portion of income as an "integrity cost".

International business deal with the added difficulty of a powerful existing gaming market, with casino operators, state-run lotteries and Native American tribes that are seeking to defend their turf.

Analysts state UK firms will require to strike partnerships, offering their know-how and innovation in order to make inroads.

They indicate SBTech's current announcement that it is offering 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, but it will be partnerships and it will be driven by innovation," Mr Hawkley stated.

'It will just depend'

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

The business has been purchasing the US market considering that 2011, when it acquired three US firms to develop an existence in Nevada.

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

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

Mr Asher stated William Hill has ended up being a family name in Nevada but that's not always the goal all over.

"We definitely mean to have a really substantial brand presence in New Jersey," he said. "In other states, it will simply depend on policy 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 day one."