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

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

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

The changes are the very first in what might end up being a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the way for states to allow sports wagering.

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

For UK companies, which are coming to grips with combination, increased online competition and harder guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is especially appropriate.

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But the market states relying on the US stays a dangerous bet, as UK business face complicated state-by-state policy and competition from entrenched local interests.

"It's something that we're actually focusing on, however equally we don't desire to overhype it," said James Midmer, spokesman at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently purchased the US fantasy sports site FanDuel.

'Take some 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 published in January.

Firms are hoping to use more of that activity after last month's choice, which overruled a 1992 federal law that barred states outside of Nevada and a couple of others from authorising sports betting.

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

That is anticipated to result in considerable variation in how companies get accredited, where sports betting can take place, and which events are open to speculation - with big implications for the size of the market.

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

Now, he said: "I believe most people ... 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 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 type by 2023, producing a market with about $6bn in annual earnings.

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

US laws minimal betting largely to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip up until fairly just recently.

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

States have actually likewise been sluggish to legalise lots of kinds of online gambling, regardless of a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to remove barriers.

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

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

Now a consultant, he states UK firms should approach the marketplace carefully, selecting partners with caution and avoiding missteps that could lead to regulator reaction.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports gambler ... I'm not exactly sure whether it is an opportunity for company," he states. "It really is reliant on the outcome of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the opportunity."

'It will be collaborations'

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

International business face the added difficulty of a powerful existing video gaming industry, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lotteries and Native American tribes that are looking for to safeguard 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 recent announcement that it is offering innovation for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the type of deals likely to materialise.

"It will be a win-win for everyone, however it will be partnerships and it will be driven by innovation," Mr Hawkley said.

'It will simply depend'

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

The business has been buying the US market since 2011, when it purchased three US companies to develop a presence in Nevada.

William Hill now uses about 450 individuals in the US and has actually revealed collaborations with casinos in Iowa and New Jersey.

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

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

"We definitely plan to have an extremely substantial brand name presence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will just depend on guideline and possibly who our local partner is."

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