It's high stakes for UK companies as sports wagering starts to spread in America.
From Tuesday, new guidelines on wagering came into effect in Delaware, a tiny 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 could become a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the way for states to enable sports betting.
The industry sees a "as soon as in a generation" chance to develop a new market in sports-mad America, stated Dublin-based monetary analyst David Jennings, who heads leisure research at Davy.
For UK firms, which are facing combination, increased online competitors and tougher guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is particularly opportune.
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But the industry states counting on the US remains a risky bet, as UK business deal with complex state-by-state regulation and competitors from entrenched local interests.
"It's something that we're truly focusing on, however similarly we do not desire to overhype it," stated James Midmer, representative at Paddy Power Betfair, which recently acquired the US dream sports website FanDuel.
'Take 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 wanting to tap into more of that activity after last month's choice, which overruled a 1992 federal law that barred states outside of Nevada and a few others from authorising sports 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 regional legislators.
That is anticipated to result in considerable variation in how firms get accredited, where sports betting can happen, and which events are open to speculation - with huge ramifications for the size of the marketplace.
Potential profits varieties from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn yearly depending on factors like the number of states transfer to legalise, Oxford Economics estimated in a 2017 study for the American Gaming Association.
"There was a lot of 'this is going to be substantial'", said Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for experts KPMG.
Now, he stated: "I believe the majority of individuals ... 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 take time'."
'Remains to be seen"
Chris Grove, managing director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, forecasts that 32 states will legalise sports wagering in some type by 2023, producing a market with about $6bn in annual profits.
But bookmakers deal with a far various landscape in America than they perform in the UK, where betting shops are a regular sight.
US laws minimal betting mainly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip up until relatively just recently.
In the popular imagination, sports wagering has actually long been linked to a 1919 baseball World Series match-fixing scandal.
States have likewise been slow to legalise numerous types of online gambling, regardless of a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to remove obstacles.
While sports wagering is generally seen in its own category, "it plainly stays to be seen whether it gets the type of momentum people believe 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 jailed in the US in 2006 for running an offshore online sportsbook and served prison time.
Now an expert, he states UK firms ought to approach the marketplace thoroughly, selecting partners with care and preventing mistakes that could result in regulator backlash.
"This is a chance for the American sports gambler ... I'm uncertain whether it is a chance for organization," he says. "It really is dependent on the outcome of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the opportunity."
'It will be partnerships'
As legalisation begins, sports betting firms are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, in addition to demands by US sports leagues, which want to gather a portion of revenue as an "stability charge".
International business deal with the included obstacle of an effective existing gaming market, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lotteries and Native American tribes that are seeking to defend their grass.
Analysts state UK firms will require to strike partnerships, using their proficiency and technology in order to make inroads.
They indicate SBTech's current announcement that it is supplying innovation for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the kind of offers 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 simply depend'
Joe Asher, president at William Hill US, is clear-eyed about the truths.
The company has been purchasing the US market because 2011, when it acquired three US firms to establish a presence in Nevada.
William Hill now uses about 450 people in the US and has revealed collaborations with casinos in Iowa and New Jersey.
It works as threat manager for the Delaware Lottery and has invested millions along with a local developer in a New Jersey horse racing track.
Mr Asher said William Hill has actually become a family name in Nevada however that's not always the goal all over.
"We definitely plan to have a very substantial brand name presence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will just depend upon regulation and potentially who our local partner is."
"The US is going to be the greatest sports betting market on the planet," he added. "Obviously that's not going to happen on day one."
