bet9ja.com
UK wagering firms gamble on US after sports betting wager ruling
bet9ja.com
5 June 2018
bet9ja.com
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, brand-new guidelines on wagering came into impact in Delaware, a tiny east coast state about two hours from Washington.
Neighbouring New Jersey might start accepting sports betting bets as early as Friday.
The changes are the first in what might become a wave of legalisation after the Supreme Court last month cleared the way for states to permit 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 financial analyst David Jennings, who heads leisure research at Davy.
For UK companies, which are coming to grips with debt consolidation, increased online competition and harder guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is especially appropriate.
Why the sports betting market faces an uncertain future
How does illegal sports betting work and what are the worries?
But the industry says relying on the US stays a risky bet, as UK companies face complicated state-by-state guideline and competition from established regional interests.
"It's something that we're actually concentrating on, however equally we don't wish to overhype it," said James Midmer, representative at Paddy Power Betfair, which recently purchased the US fantasy sports betting website FanDuel.
'Require time'
The US represented about 23% of the world's $244bn (₤ 182bn) in gaming profits last year, according to a report by Technavio, external published in January.
Firms are wanting to tap into 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.
bit.ly
The judgment discovered the law was an over-reach of federal power. But the court it did not really legalise sports betting, leaving that concern to local legislators.
That is expected to lead to substantial variation in how companies get certified, where sports betting can happen, and which occasions are open to speculation - with huge implications for the size of the marketplace.
Potential profits ranges from $4.2 bn to practically $20bn yearly depending on factors like the number of states relocate 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 huge'", said Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for specialists KPMG.
Now, he stated: "I believe the majority of people ... 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 take time'."
'Remains to be seen"
Chris Grove, handling director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, forecasts that 32 states will legalise sports betting wagering in some form by 2023, creating a market with about $6bn in yearly revenue.
But bookies deal with a far various landscape in America than they perform in the UK, where sports betting shops are a regular sight.
US laws minimal gaming mostly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip until fairly recently.
In the popular imagination, sports betting wagering has long been connected to a 1919 baseball World Series match-fixing scandal.
States have also been sluggish to legalise many types of online sports betting, regardless of a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to eliminate barriers.
bet9ja.com
While sports betting is usually seen in its own classification, "it clearly stays to be seen whether it gets the type of momentum individuals think it will," said Keith Miller, law teacher at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting regulation.
David Carruthers is the former primary executive of BetonSports, who was jailed in the US in 2006 for running an overseas online sportsbook and served prison time.
Now an expert, he states UK firms must approach the market thoroughly, choosing partners with care and preventing missteps that might result in regulator backlash.
"This is an opportunity for the American sports betting wagerer ... I'm unsure whether it is a chance for company," he states. "It really is reliant on the outcome of [state] legislation and how the pursue the chance."
'It will be partnerships'
As legalisation starts, sports betting companies are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, in addition to demands by US sports betting leagues, which wish to collect a portion of income as an "stability charge".
International companies face the included difficulty of an effective existing gaming market, with casino operators, state-run lotteries and Native American tribes that are seeking to defend their turf.
Analysts state UK firms will require to strike partnerships, providing their expertise and innovation 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 offers most likely to materialise.
"It will be a win-win for everybody, but it will be collaborations and it will be driven by innovation," Mr Hawkley said.
'It will simply depend'
Joe Asher, president at William Hill US, is clear-eyed about the truths.
The company has been buying the US market since 2011, when it bought three US companies to develop a presence in Nevada.
bit.ly
William Hill now uses about 450 people in the US and has actually revealed collaborations with casinos in Iowa and New Jersey.
It works as danger manager for the Delaware Lottery and has actually invested millions alongside a local developer in a New Jersey horse racing track.
Mr Asher said William Hill has ended up being a household name in Nevada but that's not always the objective all over.
"We certainly mean to have an extremely substantial brand existence in New Jersey," he said. "In other states, it will simply depend upon regulation and possibly who our local partner is."
"The US is going to be the greatest sports betting wagering market on the planet," he included. "Obviously that's not going to take place on the first day."
More on this story
bet9ja.com
US ruling opens way for sports betting
14 May 2018
Paddy Power buys dream sports betting website
23 May 2018
1
UK Betting Firms Gamble on uS After Sports Wager Ruling
george32s83561 edited this page 1 month ago