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

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

Neighbouring New Jersey could begin 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 market sees a "as soon as in a generation" chance to establish a new market in sports betting-mad America, stated Dublin-based financial analyst David Jennings, who heads leisure research study at Davy.

For UK companies, which are grappling with debt consolidation, increased online competition and tougher guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is particularly opportune.

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But the market states counting on the US remains a risky bet, as UK companies face complex state-by-state policy and competitors from entrenched local interests.

"It's something that we're really concentrating on, but equally we don't wish to overhype it," said James Midmer, spokesperson at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently acquired the US dream sports betting website FanDuel.

'Require 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 released in January.

Firms are wanting to take advantage of more of that activity after last month's decision, which overruled a 1992 federal law that disallowed states beyond Nevada and a couple of others from authorising sports betting.

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

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

Potential earnings ranges from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn every year depending on aspects like how many 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'", said Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for consultants KPMG.

Now, he said: "I think the majority of individuals ... 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 require time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, handling director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, anticipates that 32 states will legalise sports wagering in some form by 2023, developing a market with about $6bn in annual profits.

But bookies deal with a far different landscape in America than they do in the UK, where betting shops are a regular sight.

US laws restricted gambling mainly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip up until fairly just recently.

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

States have also been sluggish to legalise numerous types of online gambling, despite a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint 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 kind of momentum individuals think it will," stated Keith Miller, law teacher at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting guideline.

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

Now a specialist, he says UK firms must approach the marketplace thoroughly, selecting partners with caution and preventing mistakes that could result in regulator reaction.

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

'It will be collaborations'

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 percentage of earnings as an "stability charge".

International business deal with the included difficulty of a powerful existing video gaming market, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lotteries and Native American tribes that are seeking to safeguard their grass.

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

They point to SBTech's current statement that it is offering 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 everyone, however it will be partnerships and it will be driven by technology," Mr Hawkley said.

'It will just depend'

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

The company has been investing in the US market considering that 2011, when it bought three US companies to develop an existence in Nevada.

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

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

Mr Asher stated 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 regulation and possibly who our local partner is."

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