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

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

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

The changes are the very 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 industry sees a "as soon as in a generation" opportunity to develop a brand-new market in sports-mad America, stated Dublin-based financial analyst David Jennings, who heads leisure research at Davy.

For UK firms, which are coming to grips with combination, increased online competition and harder guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is particularly opportune.

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

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

'Take some time'

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

Firms are wishing to tap into more of that activity after last month's choice, which struck down a 1992 federal law that barred 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 really legalise sports betting, leaving that question to regional lawmakers.

That is anticipated to lead to considerable variation in how companies get certified, where sports betting can occur, and which events are open to speculation - with huge implications for the size of the market.

Potential income varieties from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn annually depending on aspects like the number of states relocate 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 big'", said Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for specialists KPMG.

Now, he said: "I believe many 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 take some time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, managing director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, anticipates that 32 states will legalise sports betting in some form by 2023, developing a market with about $6bn in yearly profits.

But bookies deal with a far various landscape in America than they carry out in the UK, where betting shops are a frequent sight.

US laws restricted betting mainly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip till fairly recently.

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

States have also been sluggish to legalise lots of forms of online gambling, despite a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to remove obstacles.

While sports betting is normally viewed in its own classification, "it plainly stays 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 betting policy.

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

Now a consultant, he states UK firms ought to approach the market carefully, picking partners with care and preventing mistakes that might lead to regulator reaction.

"This is a chance for the American sports betting bettor ... I'm unsure whether it is a chance for business," he says. "It truly depends on the result of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the opportunity."

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation begins, sports betting firms are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, in addition to requests by US sports leagues, which want to collect a portion of profits as an "stability fee".

International companies face the included obstacle of an effective existing video gaming market, with casino operators, state-run lottery games and Native American tribes that are looking for to protect their turf.

Analysts state UK firms will need to strike partnerships, using their know-how and technology in order to make inroads.

They indicate SBTech's recent announcement that it is providing innovation for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the sort of offers likely to materialise.

"It will be a win-win for everyone, but it will be partnerships 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 actually been buying the US market considering that 2011, when it bought 3 US companies to develop an existence in Nevada.

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

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

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

"We certainly intend to have a really considerable brand presence 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 betting wagering market worldwide," he included. "Obviously that's not going to occur on day one."