It's high stakes for UK companies as sports betting starts to spread in America.
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From Tuesday, new guidelines on wagering entered effect in Delaware, a tiny east coast state about two hours from Washington.
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Neighbouring New Jersey could start accepting sports 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 way for states to enable sports betting.

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

For UK companies, which are coming to grips with consolidation, increased online competition and tougher guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is especially opportune.

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But the market says relying 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 actually concentrating on, however equally we don't desire to overhype it," said James Midmer, representative at Paddy Power Betfair, which recently purchased the US fantasy sports betting site FanDuel.

'Require time'

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

Firms are intending to use more of that activity after last month's choice, which struck down a 1992 federal law that barred states outside of 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 in fact legalise sports betting, leaving that concern to local legislators.

That is anticipated to result in significant variation in how companies get accredited, where sports betting can occur, and which occasions are open to speculation - with huge implications for the size of the market.

Potential revenue ranges from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn each 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 great deal of 'this is going to be substantial'", stated Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for consultants KPMG.

Now, he said: "I think the majority of 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 take some time'."
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'Remains to be seen"

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

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

US laws restricted gaming mainly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip till reasonably just recently.
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In the popular creativity, sports wagering has long been linked to a 1919 baseball World Series match-fixing scandal.

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

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

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

Now a specialist, he says UK firms ought to approach the marketplace thoroughly, picking partners with care and avoiding errors that could cause regulator backlash.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports betting bettor ... I'm uncertain whether it is an opportunity for service," he says. "It actually depends on the outcome of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the opportunity."

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation starts, sports betting firms are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, as well as requests by US sports betting leagues, which wish to collect a percentage of income as an " fee".

International business face the added challenge of an effective existing gaming industry, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lottery games and Native American people that are seeking to defend their turf.

Analysts say UK firms will need to strike partnerships, providing their know-how and technology in order to make inroads.

They point to SBTech's recent statement that it is providing innovation for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the kind of deals likely to materialise.

"It will be a win-win for everybody, but it will be collaborations 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 company has been buying the US market given that 2011, when it acquired 3 US firms to establish a presence in Nevada.

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

It works as danger supervisor for the Delaware Lottery and has actually invested millions together with a regional designer in a New Jersey horse racing track.

Mr Asher said William Hill has ended up being a home name in Nevada but that's not necessarily the objective everywhere.

"We definitely intend to have a really considerable brand name existence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will simply depend on regulation and potentially who our local partner is."

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