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

From Tuesday, new rules on betting entered impact in Delaware, a small east coast state about two hours from Washington.

Neighbouring New Jersey could start accepting sports betting 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 way for states to allow sports betting.

The market sees a "as soon as in a generation" opportunity to establish 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 combination, increased online competitors and harder rules from UK regulators, the timing is especially appropriate.

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But the market states counting on the US remains a dangerous bet, as UK companies face complicated state-by-state regulation and competitors from established regional interests.

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

'Take some time'

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

Firms are intending to take advantage of more of that activity after last month's choice, which struck down a 1992 federal law that barred states beyond Nevada and a couple of others from authorising sports wagering.

The ruling discovered the law was an over-reach of federal power. But the court it did not actually legalise sports wagering, leaving that concern to regional legislators.

That is expected to result in considerable variation in how companies get licensed, where sports wagering can take place, and which occasions are open to speculation - with big implications for the size of the market.

Potential income varieties from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn each year depending on factors like the number of states relocate to legalise, Oxford Economics estimated in a 2017 research 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 said: "I believe the majority of people ... 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 require time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, managing director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, predicts that 32 states will legalise sports wagering in some form by 2023, creating a market with about $6bn in yearly income.

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

US laws limited betting mainly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip until reasonably recently.

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

States have likewise been sluggish to legalise many kinds of online betting, despite a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to eliminate challenges.

While sports betting is normally seen in its own classification, "it plainly remains to be seen whether it gets the sort of momentum people think it will," said 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 apprehended in the US in 2006 for running an overseas online sportsbook and served prison time.

Now an expert, he states UK companies must approach the marketplace thoroughly, selecting partners with caution and preventing mistakes that might cause regulator reaction.

"This is a chance for the American sports betting wagerer ... I'm uncertain whether it is an opportunity for organization," he says. "It actually is dependent on the outcome of [state] legislation and how the organization operators pursue the chance."

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation starts, sports wagering firms are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, as well as demands by US sports leagues, which wish to collect a portion of income as an "stability charge".

International companies deal with the added difficulty of a powerful existing gaming market, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lottery games and Native American tribes that are looking for to defend their grass.

Analysts state UK companies will need to strike collaborations, offering their proficiency and technology in order to make inroads.

They point to SBTech's current statement that it is providing innovation for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the type of deals 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, chief executive at William Hill US, is clear-eyed about the realities.

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

William Hill now utilizes about 450 people in the US and has actually revealed partnerships with casinos in Iowa and New Jersey.

It works as risk manager for the Delaware Lottery and has invested millions together with a local developer in a New Jersey horse racing track.

Mr Asher said William Hill has actually ended up being a family name in Nevada however that's not always the objective all over.

"We definitely intend to have a really substantial brand presence in New Jersey," he said. "In other states, it will just depend upon guideline and possibly who our regional partner is."

"The US is going to be the biggest sports betting wagering market worldwide," he added. "Obviously that's not going to happen on the first day."