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

From Tuesday, new guidelines on wagering entered effect in Delaware, a small east coast state about 2 hours from Washington.

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

The changes are the first in what could become a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the way for states to permit sports wagering.

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

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

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But the industry states counting on the US stays a risky bet, as UK business deal with complex state-by-state policy and competitors from entrenched regional interests.

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

'Take time'

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

Firms are hoping 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 wagering.

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

That is anticipated to result in significant variation in how firms get certified, where sports betting can happen, and which occasions are open to speculation - with big implications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential revenue ranges from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn yearly depending upon factors like the number of states relocate 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 huge'", said Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for experts KPMG.

Now, he stated: "I think many people ... 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 some 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 profits.

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

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

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

States have likewise been slow to legalise lots of kinds of online betting, in spite of a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to remove barriers.

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

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

Now an expert, he says UK firms must approach the marketplace carefully, selecting partners with caution and avoiding errors that might cause regulator reaction.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports bettor ... I'm not sure whether it is a chance for organization," he states. "It truly is dependent on the outcome of [state] legislation and how the business operators pursue the chance."

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation begins, sports betting companies are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, in addition to demands by US sports betting leagues, which wish to collect a portion of profits as an "integrity fee".

International business deal with the added obstacle of an effective existing gaming industry, with casino operators, state-run lotteries and Native American people that are seeking to defend their grass.

Analysts say UK firms will require to strike partnerships, offering their knowledge and innovation in order to make inroads.

They point to SBTech's current statement that it is providing technology for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the sort of deals 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 stated.

'It will simply depend'

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

The business has actually been investing in the US market given that 2011, when it bought three US firms to develop an existence in Nevada.

William Hill now uses about 450 people in the US and has actually revealed collaborations with gambling establishments in Iowa and New Jersey.

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

Mr Asher stated William Hill has actually become a family name in Nevada however that's not necessarily the goal everywhere.

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

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