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

From Tuesday, new rules on betting entered result in Delaware, a tiny 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 might become a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the way for states to allow sports betting.

The industry sees a "once in a generation" chance to develop a new market in sports betting-mad America, said Dublin-based financial expert David Jennings, who heads leisure research at Davy.

For UK companies, which are coming to grips with debt consolidation, increased online competitors and tougher rules from UK regulators, the timing is particularly appropriate.

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But the market says relying on the US stays a risky bet, as UK companies deal with complicated state-by-state guideline and competitors from established regional interests.

"It's something that we're actually concentrating on, however equally we don't wish to overhype it," said James Midmer, representative at Paddy Power Betfair, which recently bought the US fantasy sports betting website FanDuel.

'Require time'

The US represented about 23% of the world's $244bn (₤ 182bn) in gaming revenue 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 overruled a 1992 federal law that barred states outside of Nevada and a few others from authorising sports betting wagering.

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

That is anticipated to result in considerable variation in how firms get accredited, where sports wagering can happen, and which events are open to speculation - with big ramifications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential profits varieties from $4.2 bn to almost $20bn annually depending on elements like how numerous states relocate to legalise, Oxford Economics approximated in a 2017 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 experts KPMG.

Now, he stated: "I believe the majority of people ... are looking at this as, 'it's an opportunity 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, predicts that 32 states will legalise sports betting wagering in some type by 2023, developing a market with about $6bn in annual revenue.

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

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

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

States have likewise been sluggish to legalise lots of kinds of online gaming, in spite of a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to eliminate obstacles.

While sports betting is generally viewed in its own category, "it plainly stays to be seen whether it gets the sort of momentum individuals think 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 primary executive of BetonSports, who was arrested in the US in 2006 for running an offshore online sportsbook and served jail time.

Now a specialist, he states UK firms should approach the market carefully, selecting partners with caution and preventing errors that might cause regulator reaction.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports gambler ... I'm unsure whether it is an opportunity for organization," he says. "It actually depends on the outcome of [state] legislation and how the organization operators pursue the opportunity."

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation starts, sports betting wagering companies are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, in addition to requests by US sports betting leagues, which desire to collect a percentage of income as an "stability cost".

International business deal with the added obstacle of an effective existing video gaming market, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lottos and Native American people that are seeking to safeguard their grass.

Analysts say 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 supplying technology 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 innovation," Mr Hawkley stated.

'It will just depend'

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

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

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

It works as danger supervisor for the Delaware Lottery and has actually invested millions alongside a local designer in a New Jersey horse racing track.

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

"We certainly intend to have a very significant brand presence in New Jersey," he said. "In other states, it will just depend on guideline and potentially who our local partner is."

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