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

From Tuesday, new rules on wagering came into result 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 modifications are the first in what could become a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the method for states to permit sports wagering.

The market sees a "once in a generation" chance to establish a brand-new market in sports-mad America, stated Dublin-based monetary expert David Jennings, who heads leisure research study at Davy.

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

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But the industry states depending on the US stays a risky bet, as UK business face complicated state-by-state regulation and competition from established local interests.

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

'Take time'

The US represented about 23% of the world's $244bn (₤ 182bn) in video gaming revenue last year, according to a report by Technavio, external released in January.

Firms are wanting to use more of that activity after last month's choice, which struck down a 1992 federal law that barred states outside of Nevada and a couple of others from authorising sports betting.

The ruling found the law was an over-reach of federal power. But the court it did not in fact legalise sports wagering, leaving that question to local legislators.

That is anticipated to result in significant variation in how firms get licensed, where sports betting can take place, and which events are open to speculation - with huge ramifications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential income ranges from $4.2 bn to almost $20bn each year depending upon factors like how lots of states transfer to legalise, Oxford Economics estimated in a 2017 research study for the American Gaming Association.

"There was a lot of 'this is going to be huge'", stated Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for experts KPMG.

Now, he stated: "I believe many 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 require time'."

'Remains to be seen"

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

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

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

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

States have actually also been sluggish to legalise lots of kinds of online betting, regardless of a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to get rid of challenges.

While sports betting is typically seen in its own category, "it plainly remains 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 regulation.

David Carruthers is the former president of BetonSports, who was apprehended in the US in 2006 for running an offshore online sportsbook and served prison time.

Now a specialist, he states UK firms ought to approach the market carefully, choosing partners with caution and avoiding bad moves that might cause regulator reaction.

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

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation starts, sports wagering companies are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, in addition to requests by US sports leagues, which wish to gather a percentage of earnings as an "integrity fee".

International business face the added difficulty of an effective existing video gaming market, with casino operators, state-run lottery games and Native American tribes that are looking for to defend their turf.

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

They point to SBTech's recent announcement that it is providing innovation for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the sort of deals likely to materialise.

"It will be a win-win for everybody, however it will be collaborations 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 company has been buying the US market since 2011, when it bought three US firms to develop a presence in Nevada.

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

It works as threat 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 family name in Nevada but that's not necessarily the objective all over.

"We definitely plan to have an extremely significant brand presence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will just depend upon guideline and possibly who our local partner is."

"The US is going to be the greatest sports betting market in the world," he included. "Obviously that's not going to occur on the first day."