It's high stakes for UK firms as sports betting wagering starts to spread in America.
From Tuesday, brand-new guidelines on betting came into impact in Delaware, a small east coast state about 2 hours from Washington.
Neighbouring New Jersey could begin accepting sports betting 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 allow sports wagering.
The market sees a "once in a generation" opportunity to develop a brand-new market in sports betting-mad America, said Dublin-based financial analyst David Jennings, who heads leisure research at Davy.
For UK firms, which are coming to grips with combination, increased online competitors and tougher rules from UK regulators, the timing is especially appropriate.
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But the market states counting on the US remains a dangerous bet, as UK business face complex state-by-state policy and competition from established regional interests.
"It's something that we're actually concentrating on, but equally we don't wish to overhype it," said James Midmer, spokesperson at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently bought the US fantasy sports betting website FanDuel.
'Require time'
The US accounted for about 23% of the world's $244bn (₤ 182bn) in video 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 choice, which struck down a 1992 federal law that disallowed states outside of Nevada and a few others from authorising sports betting wagering.
The judgment discovered the law was an over-reach of federal power. But the court it did not in fact legalise sports wagering, leaving that concern to local lawmakers.
That is expected to lead to considerable variation in how companies get accredited, where sports betting wagering can happen, and which events are open to speculation - with huge ramifications for the size of the market.
Potential revenue ranges from $4.2 bn to practically $20bn every year depending on factors like the number of states relocate to legalise, Oxford Economics estimated in a 2017 study for the American Gaming Association.
"There was a lot of 'this is going to be big'", stated Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for experts KPMG.
Now, he said: "I think many people ... are looking at this as, 'it's an opportunity 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, handling director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, predicts that 32 states will legalise sports betting wagering in some type by 2023, creating a market with about $6bn in annual profits.
But bookies face a far different landscape in America than they do in the UK, where wagering shops are a frequent sight.
US laws minimal gambling mainly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip up until reasonably just recently.
In the popular imagination, sports betting wagering has actually long been connected to a 1919 baseball World Series match-fixing scandal.
States have likewise been slow to legalise numerous forms of online betting, in spite of a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to eliminate obstacles.
While sports betting wagering is normally viewed in its own category, "it plainly stays to be seen whether it gets the sort of momentum people believe it will," said Keith Miller, law professor at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting guideline.
David Carruthers is the previous president of BetonSports, who was detained in the US in 2006 for running an offshore online sportsbook and served prison time.
Now a specialist, he says UK firms ought to approach the marketplace thoroughly, selecting partners with care and avoiding mistakes that might lead to regulator reaction.
"This is an opportunity for the American sports betting wagerer ... I'm not exactly sure whether it is a chance for company," he says. "It really is reliant on the result of [state] legislation and how the service operators pursue the opportunity."
'It will be collaborations'
As legalisation starts, sports betting wagering companies are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, as well as demands by US sports leagues, which wish to collect a portion of earnings as an "stability charge".
International companies face the included challenge of a powerful existing video gaming industry, with casino operators, state-run lottos and Native American tribes that are looking for to defend their grass.
Analysts say UK firms will need to strike collaborations, using their proficiency and technology in order to make inroads.
They point to SBTech's recent announcement that it is providing 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 everyone, 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 truths.
The company has been purchasing the US market considering that 2011, when it purchased three US firms to develop an existence in Nevada.
William Hill now utilizes about 450 people in the US and has actually revealed collaborations with casinos in Iowa and New Jersey.
It works as risk manager for the Delaware Lottery and has invested millions alongside a regional designer in a New Jersey horse racing track.
Mr Asher said William Hill has actually become a household name in Nevada however that's not necessarily the objective all over.
"We certainly intend to have an extremely considerable brand name existence in New Jersey," he said. "In other states, it will simply depend upon regulation and potentially who our regional partner is."
"The US is going to be the greatest sports betting market worldwide," he included. "Obviously that's not going to take place on the first day."
