bit.ly
UK sports betting companies gamble on US after sports betting wager judgment
bet9ja.com
5 June 2018
bet9ja.com
By Natalie Sherman

Business press reporter, New york city

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

From Tuesday, new rules on wagering came into impact in Delaware, a tiny east coast state about 2 hours from Washington.

Neighbouring New Jersey might 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 enable sports betting wagering.

The industry sees a "when in a generation" opportunity to establish a new market in sports betting-mad America, said Dublin-based monetary analyst David Jennings, who heads leisure research at Davy.

For UK firms, which are facing consolidation, increased online competition and harder rules from UK regulators, the timing is especially appropriate.

Why the gambling industry faces an unpredictable future

How does prohibited sports betting work and what are the fears?

But the market says depending on the US stays a risky bet, as UK business face complex state-by-state policy and competition from entrenched local interests.

"It's something that we're actually focusing on, however similarly we don't wish to overhype it," stated James Midmer, spokesperson at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently acquired the US fantasy sports betting website FanDuel.

'Require time'
bet9ja.com
The US represented about 23% of the world's $244bn (₤ 182bn) in video gaming last year, according to a report by Technavio, external released in January.

Firms are wishing to use more of that activity after last month's choice, which struck down a 1992 federal law that disallowed states beyond Nevada and a few others from authorising sports betting.

The ruling discovered the law was an over-reach of federal power. But the court it did not in fact legalise sports betting wagering, leaving that concern to regional lawmakers.

That is expected to lead to considerable variation in how firms get accredited, where sports betting wagering can happen, and which occasions are open to speculation - with big ramifications for the size of the marketplace.

Potential earnings ranges from $4.2 bn to almost $20bn yearly depending on aspects like how numerous states transfer to legalise, Oxford Economics estimated in a 2017 study for the American Gaming Association.

"There was a great deal of 'this is going to be big'", said Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for consultants 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 some time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, managing director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, forecasts that 32 states will legalise sports betting in some form by 2023, developing a market with about $6bn in yearly income.

But bookies deal with a far various landscape in America than they carry out in the UK, where wagering stores are a regular sight.

US laws restricted sports betting largely to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip till fairly just recently.

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

States have actually likewise been slow to legalise many types of online sports betting, despite a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to get rid of barriers.

While sports betting wagering is generally viewed in its own classification, "it clearly stays to be seen whether it gets the sort of momentum people believe it will," said Keith Miller, law teacher at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting wagering policy.

David Carruthers is the previous president of BetonSports, who was arrested in the US in 2006 for running an overseas online sportsbook and served prison time.

Now an expert, he says UK companies must approach the market thoroughly, choosing partners with caution and preventing missteps that could result in regulator backlash.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports betting wagerer ... I'm uncertain whether it is a chance for service," he says. "It really depends on the result of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the opportunity."

'It will be partnerships'
bet9ja.com
As legalisation begins, sports betting companies are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, as well as requests by US sports betting leagues, which wish to gather a percentage of earnings as an "integrity charge".

International business deal with the added challenge of an effective existing gaming industry, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lotteries and Native American people that are seeking to protect their turf.

Analysts state UK companies will need to strike collaborations, using their proficiency and technology in order to make inroads.

They indicate SBTech's recent statement that it is supplying technology for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the sort of offers 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 said.

'It will simply depend'

Joe Asher, chief executive at William Hill US, is clear-eyed about the truths.

The business has actually been buying the US market considering that 2011, when it acquired three US companies to establish a presence in Nevada.

William Hill now employs about 450 people in the US and has actually revealed collaborations with gambling establishments in Iowa and New Jersey.

It works as risk supervisor for the Delaware Lottery and has actually invested millions together with a local designer in a New Jersey horse racing track.

Mr Asher stated William Hill has ended up being a home name in Nevada however that's not always the objective everywhere.

"We definitely intend to have a really significant brand existence in New Jersey," he said. "In other states, it will simply depend on policy and possibly who our regional partner is."

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

More on this story

US ruling opens way for sports betting

14 May 2018
bit.ly
Paddy Power purchases fantasy sports betting site

23 May 2018
bit.ly