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

From Tuesday, new guidelines on wagering entered impact in Delaware, a tiny east coast state about two hours from Washington.

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

The modifications are the very first in what could become 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 establish a new market in sports-mad America, said Dublin-based monetary analyst David Jennings, who heads leisure research at Davy.

For UK firms, which are coming to grips with consolidation, increased online competitors and tougher rules from UK regulators, the timing is especially appropriate.

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But the industry says relying on the US remains a dangerous bet, as UK companies deal with complex state-by-state regulation and competition from entrenched regional interests.

"It's something that we're really focusing on, but equally we don't desire to overhype it," stated James Midmer, spokesperson at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently purchased the US dream sports website FanDuel.

'Require time'

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

Firms are hoping to take advantage of more of that activity after last month's decision, which struck down a 1992 federal law that disallowed states beyond Nevada and a couple of others from authorising sports wagering.

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

That is anticipated to result in significant variation in how firms get accredited, where sports wagering can happen, and which events are open to speculation - with huge ramifications for the size of the market.

Potential revenue varieties from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn every year depending on aspects like the number of states relocate to legalise, Oxford Economics approximated in a 2017 study for the American Gaming Association.

"There was a lot of 'this is going to be substantial'", stated Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for consultants KPMG.

Now, he stated: "I think many people ... are looking 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 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, developing a market with about $6bn in yearly earnings.

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

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

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

States have also been sluggish to legalise many forms of online betting, despite a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to eliminate barriers.

While sports wagering is usually seen in its own classification, "it plainly remains to be seen whether it gets the sort of momentum people believe it will," stated Keith Miller, law professor at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting policy.

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

Now a specialist, he states UK companies need to approach the marketplace carefully, picking partners with caution and preventing bad moves that might lead to regulator backlash.

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

'It will be collaborations'

As legalisation starts, sports wagering firms are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, along with requests by US sports leagues, which wish to gather a percentage of earnings as an "stability charge".

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

Analysts state UK firms will require to strike collaborations, using their competence and innovation in order to make inroads.

They point to SBTech's current statement that it is providing technology for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the sort of offers most likely to materialise.

"It will be a win-win for everyone, however 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 truths.

The company has actually been investing in the US market considering that 2011, when it bought 3 US companies to develop a presence in Nevada.

William Hill now employs about 450 people in the US and has announced partnerships with casinos in Iowa and New Jersey.

It works as risk supervisor for the Delaware Lottery and has invested millions along with a local designer in a New Jersey horse racing track.

Mr Asher said William Hill has actually ended up being a home name in Nevada but that's not always the goal all over.

"We certainly plan to have an extremely significant brand presence in New Jersey," he said. "In other states, it will simply depend on regulation and possibly who our local partner is."

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