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

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

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

The changes are the 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 market sees a "when in a generation" opportunity to establish a new market in sports-mad America, stated Dublin-based financial expert David Jennings, who heads leisure research study at Davy.

For UK companies, which are coming to grips with consolidation, increased online competition and tougher guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is especially opportune.

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But the market says depending on the US stays a risky bet, as UK business face complicated state-by-state guideline and competitors from entrenched local interests.

"It's something that we're really concentrating on, but equally we don't wish to overhype it," stated James Midmer, representative at Paddy Power Betfair, which recently acquired the US dream sports betting website FanDuel.

'Take some time'

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

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

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

That is expected to cause significant variation in how firms get accredited, where sports wagering can happen, and which occasions are open to speculation - with huge implications for the size of the market.

Potential profits varieties from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn each year depending upon factors like how numerous states move to legalise, Oxford Economics approximated in a 2017 research study for the American Gaming Association.

"There was a great deal of 'this is going to be big'", said Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for consultants KPMG.

Now, he stated: "I believe a lot of individuals ... are taking a look 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 require time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, handling director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, forecasts that 32 states will legalise sports wagering in some form by 2023, creating a market with about $6bn in annual revenue.

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

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

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

States have actually likewise been sluggish to legalise numerous kinds of online gaming, regardless of a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to get rid of barriers.

While sports betting is normally viewed in its own classification, "it clearly stays to be seen whether it gets the type of momentum people think it will," said Keith Miller, law professor at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting guideline.

David Carruthers is the previous president of BetonSports, who was arrested in the US in 2006 for running an offshore online sportsbook and served prison time.

Now an expert, he states UK companies must approach the market carefully, picking partners with care and preventing mistakes that could lead to regulator backlash.

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

'It will be collaborations'

As legalisation starts, sports betting companies are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, in addition to requests by US sports leagues, which wish to collect a portion of revenue as an "integrity charge".

International companies face the included obstacle of an effective existing video gaming industry, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lotteries and Native American tribes that are seeking to safeguard their grass.

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

They indicate SBTech's recent announcement that it is offering innovation for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the kind of offers most 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 simply depend'

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

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

William Hill now employs about 450 people in the US and has announced collaborations with gambling establishments in Iowa and New Jersey.

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

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

"We definitely intend to have a very significant brand presence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will simply depend upon regulation and possibly who our regional partner is."

"The US is going to be the biggest sports wagering market in the world," he added. "Obviously that's not going to take place on day one."