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

From Tuesday, brand-new guidelines on wagering came into result in Delaware, a tiny 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 very first in what might become a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the method for states to enable sports betting.

The industry sees a "as soon as in a generation" chance to establish a brand-new market in sports betting-mad America, said Dublin-based financial analyst David Jennings, who heads leisure research at Davy.

For UK firms, which are grappling with consolidation, increased online competitors and harder rules from UK regulators, the timing is especially opportune.

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But the market states counting on the US remains a dangerous bet, as UK companies deal with complex state-by-state regulation and competitors from entrenched regional interests.

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

'Take time'

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

Firms are wanting to take advantage of more of that activity after last month's decision, 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 actually legalise sports betting wagering, leaving that question to local legislators.

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

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

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

Now, he said: "I believe the majority of people ... are looking at this as, 'it's a chance however 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, forecasts that 32 states will legalise sports wagering in some type by 2023, producing a market with about $6bn in yearly income.

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

US laws limited gaming mostly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip till relatively just recently.

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

States have also been sluggish to legalise numerous kinds of online gambling, in spite of a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to remove challenges.

While sports betting is usually viewed in its own category, "it clearly stays to be seen whether it gets the sort of momentum individuals think it will," stated Keith Miller, law teacher at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting guideline.

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

Now an expert, he says UK firms ought to approach the marketplace thoroughly, selecting partners with caution and preventing missteps that might lead to regulator backlash.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports wagerer ... I'm not sure whether it is a chance for company," he states. "It really depends on the result of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the chance."

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation begins, sports betting firms are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, in addition to demands by US sports leagues, which desire to collect a portion of revenue as an "stability cost".

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

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

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

"It will be a win-win for everybody, however it will be partnerships and it will be driven by technology," Mr Hawkley stated.

'It will simply depend'

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

The business has been purchasing the US market considering that 2011, when it bought 3 US firms to develop an existence in Nevada.

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

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

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

"We certainly mean to have an extremely significant brand name existence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will just depend on guideline and potentially who our regional partner is."

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