UK wagering companies bet on US after sports betting wager judgment
5 June 2018

By Natalie Sherman
Business reporter, New york city

It's high stakes for UK companies as sports betting starts to spread out in America.
From Tuesday, brand-new rules on sports betting entered result in Delaware, a tiny east coast state about 2 hours from Washington.
Neighbouring 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 method for states to enable sports betting.
The industry sees a "as soon as in a generation" opportunity to develop a new market in sports betting-mad America, said Dublin-based monetary analyst David Jennings, who heads leisure research study at Davy.
For UK firms, which are facing combination, increased online competitors and harder rules from UK regulators, the timing is especially opportune.
Why the gambling industry faces an uncertain future
How does unlawful sports betting wagering work and what are the fears?
But the market says depending on the US stays a risky bet, as UK business deal with complicated state-by-state policy and competition from entrenched local interests.
"It's something that we're actually focusing on, however equally we don't wish to overhype it," stated James Midmer, representative at Paddy Power Betfair, which recently bought the US dream sports betting site FanDuel.
'Take some time'
The US represented about 23% of the world's $244bn (₤ 182bn) in gaming income in 2015, according to a report by Technavio, external released in January.
Firms are wishing to take advantage of more of that activity after last month's decision, which overruled a 1992 federal law that disallowed 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 actually legalise sports betting wagering, leaving that concern to local lawmakers.
That is expected to lead to significant variation in how companies get licensed, where sports betting can take place, and which events are open to speculation - with huge implications for the size of the market.
Potential revenue ranges from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn each year depending on elements like the number of states transfer to legalise, Oxford Economics estimated in a 2017 research 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 said: "I think the majority of people ... 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 take some time'."
'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, handling director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, forecasts that 32 states will legalise sports betting in some type by 2023, producing a market with about $6bn in annual income.
But bookmakers face a far various landscape in America than they carry out in the UK, where wagering stores are a regular sight.
US laws minimal gambling mainly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip up until fairly just recently.
In the popular creativity, sports betting has actually long been connected to a 1919 baseball World Series match-fixing scandal.
States have also been slow to legalise many forms of online gaming, despite a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to remove challenges.
While sports betting is typically viewed in its own classification, "it clearly remains to be seen whether it gets the kind of momentum people think it will," said Keith Miller, law professor at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting wagering policy.
David Carruthers is the previous president of BetonSports, who was apprehended in the US in 2006 for running an offshore online sportsbook and served prison time.
Now a specialist, he says UK firms should approach the marketplace carefully, picking partners with care and avoiding bad moves that could lead to regulator backlash.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports betting wagerer ... I'm not exactly sure whether it is a chance for service," he says. "It actually depends on the result of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the opportunity."
'It will be partnerships'
As legalisation starts, sports betting wagering companies are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, in addition to requests by US sports betting leagues, which wish to gather a percentage of revenue as an "stability charge".
International companies face the added challenge of a powerful existing video gaming industry, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lottos and Native American tribes that are looking for to protect their grass.
Analysts state UK companies will require to strike partnerships, providing their expertise 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 sort of deals most likely to materialise.
"It will be a win-win for everyone, however it will be collaborations and it will be driven by innovation," Mr Hawkley stated.
'It will just depend'
Joe Asher, president at William Hill US, is clear-eyed about the realities.
The business has been buying the US market because 2011, when it purchased three US companies to develop a presence in Nevada.
William Hill now uses about 450 people in the US and has revealed collaborations with gambling establishments in Iowa and New Jersey.
It works as risk manager for the Delaware Lottery and has invested millions alongside a local designer in a New Jersey horse racing track.
Mr Asher stated William Hill has become a family name in Nevada but that's not necessarily the goal all over.
"We definitely mean to have an extremely significant brand existence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will simply depend upon policy and possibly who our regional partner is."
"The US is going to be the greatest sports betting wagering market in the world," he included. "Obviously that's not going to happen on day one."
US judgment opens way for sports betting wagering

14 May 2018
Paddy Power buys dream sports betting site
23 May 2018
