It's high stakes for UK firms as sports betting starts to spread in America.
From Tuesday, new guidelines on wagering entered impact in Delaware, a small east coast state about two hours from Washington.
Neighbouring New Jersey could begin accepting sports betting 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 enable sports wagering.
The market sees a "when in a generation" chance to establish a brand-new market in sports betting-mad America, said Dublin-based financial expert David Jennings, who heads leisure research study at Davy.
For UK companies, which are facing debt consolidation, increased online competitors and tougher guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is especially opportune.
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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 established regional interests.
"It's something that we're really focusing on, but equally we do not want to overhype it," stated James Midmer, spokesperson at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently purchased the US dream sports betting site FanDuel.
'Take some time'
The US accounted for about 23% of the world's $244bn (₤ 182bn) in gaming earnings in 2015, according to a report by Technavio, external released in January.
Firms are intending to take advantage of more of that activity after last month's decision, which overruled a 1992 federal law that barred states outside of Nevada and a couple of others from authorising sports betting 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 question to regional legislators.
That is expected to result in considerable variation in how firms get accredited, where sports wagering can occur, and which events are open to speculation - with huge implications for the size of the market.
Potential income ranges from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn yearly depending upon aspects like the number of states relocate 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'", stated Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for consultants KPMG.
Now, he said: "I think the majority of people ... 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 time'."
'Remains to be seen"
Chris Grove, managing director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, anticipates that 32 states will legalise sports wagering in some form by 2023, producing a market with about $6bn in annual earnings.
But bookmakers face a far different landscape in America than they do in the UK, where betting stores are a frequent sight.
US laws restricted gaming mainly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip until relatively just recently.
In the popular creativity, sports betting has actually long been connected to a 1919 baseball World Series match-fixing scandal.
States have actually likewise been slow to legalise lots of types of online gambling, regardless of a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to remove challenges.
While sports betting wagering is typically viewed in its own category, "it clearly stays to be seen whether it gets the type of momentum individuals think it will," said Keith Miller, law professor at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting regulation.
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 states UK companies should approach the marketplace carefully, choosing partners with caution and preventing mistakes that might lead to regulator reaction.
"This is an opportunity for the American sports bettor ... I'm not exactly sure whether it is an opportunity for organization," he says. "It truly is dependent on the result of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the chance."
'It will be partnerships'
As legalisation starts, sports betting firms are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, as well as demands by US sports betting leagues, which wish to gather a portion of income as an "stability charge".
International business face the added obstacle of a powerful existing gaming market, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lottos and Native American people that are looking for to safeguard their grass.
Analysts state UK companies will need to strike partnerships, using their expertise and technology in order to make inroads.
They indicate SBTech's current statement that it is supplying innovation for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the type of deals likely to materialise.
"It will be a win-win for everybody, but it will be collaborations and it will be driven by innovation," Mr Hawkley said.
'It will simply depend'
Joe Asher, president at William Hill US, is clear-eyed about the realities.
The company has actually been buying the US market considering that 2011, when it purchased three US companies to establish a presence in Nevada.
William Hill now employs about 450 people in the US and has announced collaborations with casinos in Iowa and New Jersey.
It works as threat manager for the Delaware Lottery and has invested millions alongside a local developer in a New Jersey horse racing track.
Mr Asher said William Hill has actually ended up being a home name in Nevada but that's not always the goal everywhere.
"We certainly intend to have a very substantial brand name presence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will just depend upon policy and possibly who our regional partner is."
"The US is going to be the most significant sports wagering market worldwide," he included. "Obviously that's not going to happen on the first day."
