
UK sports betting firms bet on US after sports betting wager ruling

5 June 2018

By Natalie Sherman
Business reporter, New york city
It's high stakes for UK firms as sports betting starts to spread in America.
From Tuesday, brand-new guidelines on sports betting entered into effect in Delaware, a tiny east coast state about 2 hours from Washington.
Neighbouring New Jersey could begin 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 enable sports betting.
The market sees a "once in a generation" chance to establish a new market in sports betting-mad America, stated Dublin-based financial expert David Jennings, who heads leisure research at Davy.
For UK firms, which are grappling with consolidation, increased online competition and harder rules from UK regulators, the timing is particularly appropriate.
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But the industry says depending on the US remains a dangerous bet, as UK companies face complicated state-by-state policy and competitors from entrenched regional interests.
"It's something that we're actually concentrating on, however equally we do not wish to overhype it," said James Midmer, spokesman at Paddy Power Betfair, which recently acquired the US dream sports betting website 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 published in January.
Firms are hoping 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 actually legalise sports betting, leaving that concern to regional legislators.
That is anticipated to result in substantial variation in how firms get accredited, where sports betting wagering can occur, and which events are open to speculation - with huge ramifications for the size of the marketplace.
Potential earnings ranges from $4.2 bn to almost $20bn every year depending on aspects like how lots 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 consultants KPMG.
Now, he said: "I think most individuals ... are taking a look 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 require time'."
'Remains to be seen"
Chris Grove, managing director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, predicts that 32 states will legalise sports betting in some form by 2023, developing a market with about $6bn in yearly profits.
But bookies deal with a far various landscape in America than they perform in the UK, where wagering stores are a regular sight.
US laws minimal gaming largely to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip till reasonably just recently.
In the popular creativity, sports betting has long been linked to a 1919 baseball World Series match-fixing scandal.
States have actually also been slow to legalise many forms of online sports betting, despite a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to remove barriers.

While sports betting is typically seen in its own classification, "it clearly stays to be seen whether it gets the kind of momentum people think 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 detained in the US in 2006 for running an overseas online sportsbook and served prison time.
Now a consultant, he states UK companies need to approach the market thoroughly, selecting partners with care and avoiding missteps that could lead to regulator backlash.
"This is an opportunity for the American sports betting wagerer ... I'm not exactly sure whether it is an opportunity for organization," he states. "It truly depends on the outcome of [state] legislation and how the company operators pursue the opportunity."
'It will be partnerships'
As legalisation begins, sports betting wagering firms are lobbying to ward off high tax rates, as well as demands by US sports betting leagues, which want to collect a percentage of revenue as an "stability charge".
International business deal with the added challenge of a powerful existing gaming industry, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lotteries and Native American tribes that are seeking to protect their turf.
Analysts say UK companies will need to strike partnerships, using their expertise and innovation in order to make inroads.
They point to SBTech's current statement that it is providing technology for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the sort of deals likely to materialise.
"It will be a win-win for everyone, however it will be collaborations and it will be driven by technology," Mr Hawkley said.
'It will just depend'
Joe Asher, chief executive at William Hill US, is clear-eyed about the truths.
The business has been buying the US market considering that 2011, when it bought three US firms to establish an existence in Nevada.
William Hill now utilizes about 450 people in the US and has revealed collaborations with casinos in Iowa and New Jersey.
It works as risk supervisor for the Delaware Lottery and has invested millions alongside a local developer in a New Jersey horse racing track.
Mr Asher stated William Hill has become a family name in Nevada however that's not necessarily the objective all over.
"We definitely plan to have an extremely substantial brand presence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will just depend on guideline and potentially who our regional partner is."
"The US is going to be the biggest sports betting market worldwide," he added. "Obviously that's not going to occur on the first day."
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