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

From Tuesday, new guidelines on wagering entered into 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 first in what could become a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the method for states to enable sports betting.

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

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

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

"It's something that we're actually focusing on, however similarly we don't want to overhype it," stated James Midmer, spokesman at Paddy Power Betfair, which recently purchased the US fantasy sports betting website FanDuel.

'Take some time'

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

Firms are wishing to tap into 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 in fact legalise sports betting wagering, leaving that question to regional legislators.

That is expected to cause considerable variation in how companies get certified, where sports betting wagering can occur, and which events are open to speculation - with big ramifications for the size of the market.

Potential profits ranges from $4.2 bn to practically $20bn yearly depending upon factors like the number of states move 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 big'", said Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for experts KPMG.

Now, he said: "I believe the majority of 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, managing director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, predicts that 32 states will legalise sports betting wagering in some form by 2023, developing a market with about $6bn in annual earnings.

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

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

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

States have actually also been sluggish to legalise lots of kinds of online gaming, in spite of a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to remove challenges.

While sports betting is usually viewed in its own category, "it clearly stays to be seen whether it gets the kind of momentum individuals believe it will," said 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 arrested in the US in 2006 for running an overseas online sportsbook and served jail time.

Now a specialist, he states UK companies should approach the market carefully, selecting partners with care and avoiding missteps that could result in regulator reaction.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports betting bettor ... I'm not sure whether it is an opportunity for business," he says. "It actually is reliant on the result of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the chance."

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation starts, sports betting companies are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, in addition to requests by US sports betting leagues, which wish to collect a portion of revenue as an "stability charge".

International business face the added challenge of a powerful existing gaming industry, with casino operators, state-run lotteries and Native American tribes that are seeking to safeguard their grass.

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

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

"It will be a win-win for everybody, however it will be collaborations and it will be driven by technology," Mr Hawkley said.

'It will simply depend'

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

The business has been purchasing the US market considering that 2011, when it purchased three US firms to establish an existence in Nevada.

William Hill now uses about 450 individuals in the US and has announced collaborations with gambling establishments in Iowa and New Jersey.

It works as threat supervisor for the Delaware Lottery and has actually invested millions alongside a regional developer in a New Jersey horse racing track.

Mr Asher stated William Hill has become a household name in Nevada but that's not always the objective all over.

"We definitely mean to have a really considerable brand name existence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will just depend on regulation and potentially who our regional 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."