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

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

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

The changes 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 betting.

The market sees a "as soon as in a generation" opportunity to develop 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 coming to grips with combination, increased online competitors and tougher rules from UK regulators, the timing is particularly suitable.

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But the industry says counting on the US remains a dangerous bet, as UK companies face complex state-by-state policy and competition from entrenched local interests.

"It's something that we're really focusing on, but similarly we do not wish to overhype it," stated James Midmer, spokesperson at Paddy Power Betfair, which recently purchased the US fantasy sports website FanDuel.

'Require time'

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

Firms are wishing to take advantage of 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 wagering.

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

That is anticipated to result in considerable variation in how firms get accredited, where sports betting wagering can take place, and which occasions are open to speculation - with big implications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential profits varieties from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn each year depending on aspects like the number of states move 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 substantial'", stated Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for experts KPMG.

Now, he stated: "I think many 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 time'."

'Remains to be seen"

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

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

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

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

States have also been sluggish to legalise many forms of online gaming, despite a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to eliminate barriers.

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

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

Now an expert, he states UK firms need to approach the market carefully, choosing partners with care and preventing missteps that might cause regulator reaction.

"This is a chance for the American sports wagerer ... I'm not sure whether it is an opportunity for business," he says. "It really depends on the result of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the opportunity."

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation starts, sports betting companies are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, along with demands by US sports leagues, which want to gather a percentage of income as an "stability cost".

International companies deal with the added difficulty of an effective existing gaming industry, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lotteries and Native American people that are looking for to safeguard their grass.

Analysts state UK firms will require to strike collaborations, providing their expertise and innovation in order to make inroads.

They indicate SBTech's current announcement that it is supplying technology for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the sort of offers likely to materialise.

"It will be a win-win for everybody, but it will be collaborations and it will be driven by technology," Mr Hawkley stated.

'It will simply depend'

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

The business has been buying the US market since 2011, when it acquired 3 US firms to develop a presence in Nevada.

William Hill now employs about 450 people in the US and has actually announced collaborations with casinos in Iowa and New Jersey.

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

Mr Asher stated William Hill has become a household name in Nevada but that's not always the objective everywhere.

"We certainly plan to have a very significant brand name presence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will simply depend upon guideline and potentially who our local partner is."

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