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

From Tuesday, brand-new guidelines on betting came into effect in Delaware, a small east coast state about 2 hours from Washington.

Neighbouring New Jersey might start accepting sports betting bets as early as Friday.

The modifications are the first in what could end up being a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the method for states to enable sports betting.

The industry sees a "when in a generation" chance to establish a brand-new market in sports betting-mad America, stated Dublin-based monetary analyst David Jennings, who heads leisure research study at Davy.

For UK companies, which are facing combination, increased online competition and harder guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is especially appropriate.

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But the market says counting on the US remains a dangerous bet, as UK business deal with complex state-by-state regulation and competition from entrenched local interests.

"It's something that we're really concentrating on, but equally we do not wish to overhype it," said James Midmer, spokesman at Paddy Power Betfair, which recently bought the US dream sports site FanDuel.

'Take some time'

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

Firms are wishing to use more of that activity after last month's decision, which struck down a 1992 federal law that barred states outside of Nevada and a couple of others from authorising sports betting wagering.

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

That is expected to result in substantial variation in how companies get licensed, where sports betting wagering can happen, and which events are open to speculation - with huge implications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential profits varieties from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn each year depending on elements like the number of states transfer to legalise, Oxford Economics estimated in a 2017 research study for the American Gaming Association.

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

Now, he stated: "I think many people ... are looking 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 require time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, handling 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 annual 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 restricted betting mainly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip up until reasonably recently.

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

States have also been sluggish to legalise many types of online gambling, in spite of a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to eliminate challenges.

While sports wagering is normally seen in its own category, "it plainly remains to be seen whether it gets the type of momentum people think it will," said Keith Miller, law professor at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting guideline.

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

Now an expert, he says UK companies need to approach the market carefully, selecting partners with caution and avoiding bad moves that might lead to regulator backlash.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports betting gambler ... I'm not sure whether it is a chance for organization," he says. "It really is reliant on the outcome of [state] legislation and how the service operators pursue the opportunity."

'It will be collaborations'

As legalisation begins, sports betting wagering firms are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, along with demands by US sports betting leagues, which want to collect a portion of revenue as an "stability charge".

International companies face the added challenge of an effective existing gaming market, with casino operators, state-run lotteries and Native American people that are seeking to safeguard their grass.

Analysts state UK companies will need to strike partnerships, offering their knowledge and technology 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 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 realities.

The company has been purchasing the US market given that 2011, when it purchased 3 US companies to establish an existence in Nevada.

William Hill now employs about 450 people in the US and has actually announced partnerships with casinos in Iowa and New Jersey.

It works as risk manager for the Delaware Lottery and has actually invested millions together with a regional developer in a New Jersey horse racing track.

Mr Asher stated William Hill has ended up being a family name in Nevada but that's not always the objective everywhere.

"We definitely plan to have a really significant brand name presence in New Jersey," he said. "In other states, it will simply depend on policy and potentially who our local partner is."

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