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

From Tuesday, brand-new rules on wagering entered impact 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 very first in what might end up being a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the method for states to allow sports wagering.

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 at Davy.

For UK companies, which are grappling with combination, increased online competitors and tougher rules from UK regulators, the timing is especially suitable.

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But the market says depending on the US remains a risky bet, as UK companies face complicated state-by-state guideline and competition from entrenched regional interests.

"It's something that we're really concentrating on, however similarly we don't want to overhype it," said James Midmer, representative at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently bought the US fantasy sports website FanDuel.

'Take some time'

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

Firms are intending to tap into more of that activity after last month's decision, which struck down a 1992 federal law that disallowed states beyond Nevada and a few others from authorising sports betting.

The ruling discovered the law was an over-reach of federal power. But the court it did not in fact legalise sports betting, leaving that concern to local lawmakers.

That is expected to cause substantial variation in how companies get certified, where sports betting can occur, and which occasions are open to speculation - with big implications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential income varieties from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn each year depending upon factors like the number 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 specialists KPMG.

Now, he stated: "I think many people ... are taking a look 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, handling director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, forecasts that 32 states will legalise sports betting in some type by 2023, producing a market with about $6bn in annual income.

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

US laws restricted gambling mainly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip up until relatively just recently.

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

States have actually likewise been sluggish to legalise lots of kinds of online gaming, despite a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to eliminate challenges.

While sports wagering is usually seen in its own classification, "it clearly remains to be seen whether it gets the sort of momentum individuals believe it will," said Keith Miller, law teacher at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports wagering regulation.

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

Now an expert, he says UK companies must approach the marketplace carefully, selecting partners with care and preventing errors that might lead to regulator backlash.

"This is a chance for the American sports wagerer ... I'm uncertain whether it is a chance for company," he says. "It really depends on the result of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the chance."

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation begins, sports wagering companies are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, as well as requests by US sports leagues, which wish to gather a percentage of revenue as an "integrity charge".

International business deal with the added challenge of a powerful existing gaming industry, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lottos and Native American tribes that are seeking to safeguard their turf.

Analysts state UK firms will need to strike partnerships, offering their competence and technology in order to make inroads.

They indicate SBTech's recent announcement that it is supplying technology for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the kind 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 stated.

'It will just depend'

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

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

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

It works as risk supervisor for the Delaware Lottery and has actually invested millions alongside a regional 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 goal everywhere.

"We definitely intend to have an extremely significant brand name existence in New Jersey," he said. "In other states, it will simply depend on regulation and potentially who our regional partner is."

"The US is going to be the greatest sports wagering market worldwide," he included. "Obviously that's not going to happen on day one."