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

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

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

The changes are the first in what could become a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the way for states to enable sports betting.

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

For UK firms, which are facing combination, increased online competitors and tougher guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is especially appropriate.

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But the industry states depending on the US stays a dangerous bet, as UK companies deal with complicated state-by-state guideline and competitors from established regional interests.

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

'Take some time'

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

Firms are wishing to tap into more of that activity after last month's decision, which overruled a 1992 federal law that barred states beyond Nevada and a couple of others from authorising sports wagering.

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

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

Potential revenue ranges from $4.2 bn to practically $20bn yearly depending on elements like the number of states transfer to legalise, Oxford Economics approximated in a 2017 research study for the American Gaming Association.

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

Now, he said: "I believe many people ... are taking a look 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 require time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, managing director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, anticipates that 32 states will legalise sports betting in some type by 2023, producing a market with about $6bn in yearly revenue.

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

US laws minimal gaming mostly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip up until fairly just recently.

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

States have likewise been slow to legalise numerous types of online gaming, in spite of a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to remove barriers.

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

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

Now a consultant, he says UK companies need to approach the market carefully, selecting partners with caution and preventing missteps that might cause regulator backlash.

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

'It will be collaborations'

As legalisation begins, sports wagering companies are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, as well as demands by US sports leagues, which desire to collect a portion of income as an "integrity cost".

International companies face the added obstacle of an effective existing video gaming industry, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lottery games and Native American tribes that are looking for to protect their grass.

Analysts state UK companies will require to strike partnerships, providing their expertise and innovation in order to make inroads.

They indicate SBTech's recent announcement 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 everyone, however it will be partnerships and it will be driven by technology," Mr Hawkley stated.

'It will just depend'

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

The business has actually been buying the US market considering that 2011, when it acquired three US companies to establish a presence in Nevada.

William Hill now utilizes about 450 individuals in the US and has actually announced partnerships with gambling establishments in Iowa and New Jersey.

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

Mr Asher said William Hill has actually become a home name in Nevada but that's not always the goal everywhere.

"We certainly intend to have a very significant brand name existence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will simply depend upon policy and possibly who our regional partner is."

"The US is going to be the most significant sports wagering market in the world," he included. "Obviously that's not going to take place on the first day."