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UK sports betting firms gamble on US after sports betting wager ruling
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5 June 2018
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By Natalie Sherman

Business press reporter, New York

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

From Tuesday, new rules on wagering entered into impact in Delaware, a small east coast state about two hours from Washington.

New Jersey could start accepting sports betting bets as early as Friday.

The modifications 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 betting wagering.

The industry sees a "as soon as in a generation" chance to develop a new market in sports betting-mad America, said Dublin-based financial analyst David Jennings, who heads leisure research study at Davy.

For UK firms, which are facing combination, increased online competition and tougher rules from UK regulators, the timing is particularly opportune.

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But the market states depending on the US stays a dangerous bet, as UK business deal with complicated state-by-state guideline and competition from established regional interests.

"It's something that we're really focusing on, but equally we don't desire to overhype it," said James Midmer, representative at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently bought the US dream sports betting site FanDuel.

'Take some time'

The US represented about 23% of the world's $244bn (₤ 182bn) in video gaming profits in 2015, according to a report by Technavio, external released in January.

Firms are wishing to tap into more of that activity after last month's decision, which overruled a 1992 federal law that disallowed states beyond Nevada and a few others from authorising sports betting wagering.

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

That is anticipated to cause considerable variation in how companies get certified, where sports betting wagering can take place, and which occasions are open to speculation - with big ramifications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential income varieties from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn annually depending upon factors like how lots of 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 big'", stated Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for experts KPMG.

Now, he stated: "I believe many people ... are taking a look 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 some time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, handling director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, predicts that 32 states will legalise sports betting wagering in some kind by 2023, producing a market with about $6bn in yearly profits.

But bookmakers face a far different landscape in America than they carry out in the UK, where wagering stores are a regular sight.

US laws limited gambling largely to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip until reasonably recently.

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

States have likewise been slow to legalise numerous kinds of online sports betting, despite a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to get rid of obstacles.

While sports betting is usually seen in its own classification, "it plainly remains to be seen whether it gets the sort of momentum individuals think it will," said Keith Miller, law teacher at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting wagering regulation.

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

Now a consultant, he states UK firms need to approach the market carefully, choosing partners with caution and preventing mistakes that could result in regulator reaction.

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

'It will be partnerships'

As legalisation starts, sports betting companies are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, along with requests by US sports betting leagues, which wish to gather a percentage of profits as an "stability fee".

International business deal with the added challenge of a powerful existing gaming market, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lottery games and Native American tribes that are looking for to safeguard their grass.

Analysts say UK firms will need to strike partnerships, offering their know-how and innovation in order to make inroads.

They indicate SBTech's recent announcement 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 everyone, but it will be collaborations and it will be driven by technology," Mr Hawkley stated.

'It will just depend'
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Joe Asher, president at William Hill US, is clear-eyed about the truths.

The business has actually been buying the US market considering that 2011, when it purchased 3 US firms to develop a presence in Nevada.

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

It works as danger supervisor for the Delaware Lottery and has actually invested millions along with a regional developer in a New Jersey horse racing track.

Mr Asher stated William Hill has actually become a home name in Nevada however that's not always the goal everywhere.

"We certainly mean to have an extremely considerable brand existence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will just depend upon guideline and potentially who our local partner is."

"The US is going to be the biggest sports betting wagering market in the world," he included. "Obviously that's not going to take place on the first day."

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