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

From Tuesday, new rules on wagering came into effect in Delaware, a small east coast state about 2 hours from Washington.

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

The modifications are the very first in what could end up being a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the way for states to allow sports wagering.

The industry sees a "once in a generation" chance to develop 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 competitors and harder rules from UK regulators, the timing is especially opportune.

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But the industry states depending on the US remains a risky bet, as UK companies face complicated state-by-state policy and competitors from entrenched regional interests.

"It's something that we're really concentrating on, however similarly we don't desire to overhype it," said James Midmer, spokesman at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently bought the US fantasy sports betting site FanDuel.

'Require time'

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

Firms are wanting to tap into more of that activity after last month's choice, which struck down a 1992 federal law that disallowed 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 regional legislators.

That is expected to result in substantial variation in how companies get licensed, where sports betting can take place, and which occasions are open to speculation - with big implications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential profits varieties from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn each year depending on aspects 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 big'", said Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for experts KPMG.

Now, he said: "I believe the majority of people ... are taking a look at this as, 'it's a chance however it's not going to be $20bn and it's going to be state by state and it's going to take time'."

'Remains to be seen"

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

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

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

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

States have actually likewise been sluggish to legalise numerous forms of online betting, regardless of a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to eliminate challenges.

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

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

Now an expert, he says UK companies should approach the marketplace carefully, selecting partners with caution and avoiding mistakes that might result in regulator reaction.

"This is a chance for the American sports betting wagerer ... I'm unsure whether it is a chance for business," he says. "It actually is reliant on the result of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the opportunity."

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation starts, sports betting firms are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, as well as requests by US sports leagues, which wish to gather a percentage of profits as an "integrity charge".

International business face the included challenge of an effective existing gaming market, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lottos and Native American tribes that are looking for to protect their turf.

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

They indicate SBTech's current announcement that it is supplying technology for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the kind 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 innovation," Mr Hawkley stated.

'It will just depend'

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

The business has been investing in the US market given that 2011, when it bought three US companies to develop a presence in Nevada.

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

It works as threat supervisor for the Delaware Lottery and has actually invested millions along with a regional developer 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 always the goal everywhere.

"We certainly plan to have an extremely considerable brand name presence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will simply depend upon policy and possibly who our local partner is."

"The US is going to be the greatest sports wagering market worldwide," he added. "Obviously that's not going to occur on day one."