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

From Tuesday, new guidelines on wagering came into result in Delaware, a tiny east coast state about 2 hours from Washington.

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

The modifications are the very first in what could end up being a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the method for states to enable sports betting.

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

For UK firms, which are grappling with consolidation, increased online competitors and harder guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is especially opportune.

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But the industry says counting on the US stays a risky bet, as UK companies face complicated state-by-state regulation and competition from entrenched regional interests.

"It's something that we're truly concentrating on, however equally we don't desire to overhype it," stated James Midmer, spokesman 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 gaming earnings in 2015, according to a report by Technavio, external published in January.

Firms are hoping to take advantage of more of that activity after last month's choice, which struck down a 1992 federal law that disallowed states outside of Nevada and a few others from authorising sports betting.

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

That is expected to result in substantial variation in how companies get accredited, where sports wagering can occur, and which events are open to speculation - with big implications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential revenue ranges from $4.2 bn to practically $20bn yearly depending upon factors like how many states move to legalise, Oxford Economics approximated in a 2017 research study for the American Gaming Association.

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

Now, he said: "I think most individuals ... are looking at this as, 'it's an opportunity however 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, predicts that 32 states will legalise sports betting in some kind by 2023, developing a market with about $6bn in annual earnings.

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

US laws limited gambling largely to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip till relatively just recently.

In the popular imagination, sports wagering has 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 gaming, despite a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to get rid of barriers.

While sports betting is usually seen in its own category, "it clearly stays to be seen whether it gets the type of momentum individuals think it will," said Keith Miller, law teacher at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting regulation.

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

Now a consultant, he states UK firms must approach the market carefully, choosing partners with caution and preventing errors that might result in regulator reaction.

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

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation starts, sports betting companies are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, along with demands by US sports leagues, which desire to collect a portion of income as an "stability cost".

International companies deal with the added difficulty of an effective existing video gaming market, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lotteries and Native American people that are seeking to protect their grass.

Analysts say UK firms will require to strike collaborations, using their expertise and technology in order to make inroads.

They point to SBTech's current announcement that it is offering innovation 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 everyone, but it will be collaborations and it will be driven by innovation," Mr Hawkley said.

'It will simply depend'

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

The company has actually been investing in the US market since 2011, when it bought three US companies to establish a presence in Nevada.

William Hill now uses about 450 people in the US and has announced 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 designer 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 everywhere.

"We certainly intend to have an extremely significant brand name presence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will simply depend upon guideline and potentially who our regional partner is."

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