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

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

Neighbouring New Jersey might begin accepting sports bets as early as Friday.

The changes are the 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 betting.

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

For UK companies, which are facing debt consolidation, increased online competition and harder rules from UK regulators, the timing is particularly opportune.

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But the market states counting on the US stays a dangerous bet, as UK business deal with complex state-by-state guideline and competitors from entrenched local interests.

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

'Require 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 use more of that activity after last month's decision, which struck down a 1992 federal law that barred states beyond Nevada and a couple of others from authorising sports wagering.

The judgment 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 expected to lead to considerable variation in how firms get certified, where sports wagering can happen, and which events are open to speculation - with big implications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential revenue varieties from $4.2 bn to almost $20bn annually depending upon factors like how numerous states transfer to legalise, Oxford Economics estimated in a 2017 research study for the American Gaming Association.

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

Now, he stated: "I believe most individuals ... 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 some time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, handling director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, forecasts that 32 states will legalise sports wagering in some kind by 2023, developing a market with about $6bn in yearly income.

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

US laws limited gaming mainly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip up until relatively recently.

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

States have actually also been sluggish to legalise numerous types of online gambling, despite a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to get rid of challenges.

While sports wagering is normally viewed in its own category, "it clearly stays to be seen whether it gets the kind of momentum people think it will," said Keith Miller, law teacher at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports wagering policy.

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

Now a consultant, he says UK firms must approach the marketplace carefully, choosing partners with caution and avoiding mistakes that might cause regulator backlash.

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

'It will be collaborations'

As legalisation starts, sports wagering firms are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, in addition to requests by US sports leagues, which desire to collect a percentage of earnings as an "stability charge".

International companies deal with the included challenge of an effective existing gaming market, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lottery games and Native American tribes that are seeking to defend their grass.

Analysts say UK companies will require to strike collaborations, providing their proficiency and innovation in order to make inroads.

They indicate SBTech's recent statement that it is offering 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 everybody, but it will be partnerships and it will be driven by innovation," Mr Hawkley said.

'It will just depend'

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

The business has actually been purchasing the US market because 2011, when it acquired 3 US companies to develop an existence in Nevada.

William Hill now utilizes about 450 individuals 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 together with a regional designer in a New Jersey horse racing track.

Mr Asher said William Hill has ended up being a family name in Nevada however that's not necessarily the objective all over.

"We definitely mean to have an extremely significant brand presence in New Jersey," he said. "In other states, it will just depend upon policy and possibly who our local partner is."

"The US is going to be the most significant sports betting market on the planet," he included. "Obviously that's not going to occur on day one."