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

From Tuesday, brand-new rules on wagering entered into impact in Delaware, a tiny east coast state about 2 hours from Washington.

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

The changes are the first in what might become a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the method for states to allow sports wagering.

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

For UK firms, which are facing consolidation, increased online competition and tougher guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is especially opportune.

Why the betting industry faces an uncertain future

How does unlawful sports wagering work and what are the fears?

But the industry states counting on the US remains a risky bet, as UK companies face complex state-by-state regulation and competition from entrenched regional interests.

"It's something that we're really concentrating on, however equally we do not wish to overhype it," stated James Midmer, spokesman at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently bought the US dream sports site FanDuel.

'Take some time'

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

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

The ruling discovered the law was an over-reach of federal power. But the court it did not really legalise sports wagering, leaving that question to local legislators.

That is anticipated to cause considerable variation in how firms get licensed, where sports betting can occur, and which events are open to speculation - with huge ramifications for the size of the market.

Potential profits varieties from $4.2 bn to practically $20bn yearly depending on factors like how lots of states transfer 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 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, developing a market with about $6bn in annual income.

But bookmakers deal with a far different landscape in America than they do in the UK, where wagering shops are a regular sight.

US laws minimal gambling largely to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip till reasonably recently.

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

States have likewise been slow to legalise lots of kinds of online betting, in spite of a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to eliminate obstacles.

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

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

Now an expert, he says UK firms must approach the marketplace thoroughly, choosing partners with caution and preventing mistakes that might result in regulator reaction.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports betting gambler ... I'm not sure whether it is an opportunity for organization," 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 begins, sports wagering firms are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, along with demands by US sports betting leagues, which wish to collect a percentage of income as an "stability charge".

International companies deal with the included difficulty of an effective existing gaming industry, with casino operators, state-run lottery games and Native American tribes that are seeking to defend their turf.

Analysts state UK companies will require to strike partnerships, offering their knowledge and technology in order to make inroads.

They indicate SBTech's current announcement that it is offering technology for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the sort of deals likely to materialise.

"It will be a win-win for everyone, but it will be collaborations and it will be driven by technology," Mr Hawkley stated.

'It will simply depend'

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

The company has actually been buying the US market considering that 2011, when it purchased three US firms to establish 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 danger supervisor for the Delaware Lottery and has invested millions together with a local designer in a New Jersey horse racing track.

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

"We certainly mean to have a really considerable brand name presence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will simply depend on policy and possibly who our regional partner is."

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