It's high stakes for UK firms 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 bets as early as Friday.

The changes are the first in what might end up being a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the way for states to allow 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 firms, which are grappling with consolidation, increased online competitors and harder rules from UK regulators, the timing is particularly appropriate.

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

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

'Take some time'

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

Firms are intending to take advantage of more of that activity after last month's choice, which overruled a 1992 federal law that disallowed states beyond 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 actually legalise sports wagering, leaving that concern to local legislators.

That is expected to cause significant variation in how companies get accredited, where sports betting can take place, and which occasions are open to speculation - with big ramifications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential earnings varieties from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn annually depending upon elements like how lots 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 huge'", said Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for experts KPMG.

Now, he said: "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 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, creating a market with about $6bn in yearly income.

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

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

In the popular creativity, 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 types of online gambling, despite a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to eliminate barriers.

While sports wagering is typically viewed in its own classification, "it clearly stays to be seen whether it gets the type of momentum people believe it will," stated Keith Miller, law professor at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports wagering policy.

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

Now a specialist, he states UK firms ought to approach the market carefully, selecting partners with care and avoiding errors that might cause regulator reaction.

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

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation begins, sports wagering firms are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, in addition to demands by US sports leagues, which desire to gather a percentage of profits as an "integrity cost".

International companies deal with the included difficulty of a powerful existing gaming market, with casino operators, state-run lottos and Native American people that are looking for to safeguard their grass.

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

They indicate SBTech's current statement that it is providing innovation 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 collaborations and it will be driven by technology," Mr Hawkley said.

'It will just depend'

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

The company has been purchasing the US market considering that 2011, when it purchased 3 US firms to establish an existence in Nevada.

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

It works as risk supervisor for the Delaware Lottery and has invested millions alongside a regional 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 definitely intend to have a very substantial brand existence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will just depend on policy and potentially who our regional partner is."

"The US is going to be the most significant sports betting market on the planet," he included. "Obviously that's not going to happen on the first day."