1 UK Betting Firms Gamble on uS After Sports Wager Ruling
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UK sports betting firms gamble on US after sports betting wager ruling
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5 June 2018
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By Natalie Sherman

Business press reporter, New York

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

From Tuesday, new guidelines on wagering entered into effect in Delaware, a tiny east coast state about two hours from Washington.

Neighbouring New Jersey could start accepting sports betting bets as early as Friday.

The changes are the very first in what might become a wave of legalisation after the last month cleared the method for states to enable sports betting.

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

For UK firms, which are grappling with combination, increased online competitors and harder rules from UK regulators, the timing is especially opportune.

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But the industry states counting on the US remains a risky bet, as UK companies face complicated state-by-state regulation and competitors from entrenched local interests.

"It's something that we're really focusing on, however similarly we do not desire to overhype it," stated James Midmer, spokesman at Paddy Power Betfair, which recently acquired the US fantasy sports betting website FanDuel.

'Take some time'
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The US accounted for 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 beyond Nevada and a few 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 regional legislators.

That is expected to cause considerable variation in how companies get certified, where sports betting wagering can happen, and which events are open to speculation - with big ramifications for the size of the market.

Potential earnings varieties from $4.2 bn to practically $20bn yearly depending upon aspects like how lots of states move to legalise, Oxford Economics approximated in a 2017 study for the American Gaming Association.

"There was a great deal of 'this is going to be big'", stated Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for experts KPMG.

Now, he stated: "I think many people ... are taking a look 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 time'."

'Remains to be seen"

Chris Grove, handling director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, predicts that 32 states will legalise sports betting wagering in some form by 2023, producing a market with about $6bn in annual profits.

But bookies deal with a far different landscape in America than they do in the UK, where sports betting stores are a regular sight.

US laws minimal sports betting mostly to Native American lands and Nevada's Las Vegas strip till reasonably just recently.

In the popular imagination, sports betting wagering has long been connected to a 1919 baseball World Series match-fixing scandal.
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States have also been sluggish to legalise many types of online gambling, regardless of a 2011 Justice Department viewpoint that appeared to eliminate barriers.

While sports betting wagering is typically viewed in its own category, "it plainly remains to be seen whether it gets the kind of momentum people believe it will," said Keith Miller, law professor at Drake University and co-author of a book about sports betting wagering guideline.

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 a consultant, he says UK firms need to approach the marketplace carefully, choosing partners with caution and preventing mistakes that might lead to regulator backlash.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports betting wagerer ... I'm not sure whether it is an opportunity for organization," he says. "It actually is reliant on the outcome of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the opportunity."

'It will be collaborations'

As legalisation starts, sports betting firms are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, as well as requests by US sports betting leagues, which want to gather a portion of income as an "stability cost".

International companies deal with the added difficulty of an effective existing video gaming industry, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lottery games and Native American tribes that are seeking to protect their grass.

Analysts state UK firms will need to strike collaborations, using their know-how and innovation in order to make inroads.

They point to SBTech's recent statement that it is supplying innovation for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the kind of offers most likely to materialise.

"It will be a win-win for everybody, however it will be partnerships and it will be driven by innovation," Mr Hawkley stated.

'It will simply depend'

Joe Asher, primary executive at William Hill US, is clear-eyed about the realities.

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

William Hill now utilizes about 450 people in the US and has announced collaborations with gambling establishments in Iowa and New Jersey.

It works as risk manager for the Delaware Lottery and has actually invested millions alongside a regional designer in a New Jersey horse racing track.

Mr Asher said William Hill has actually become a home name in Nevada however that's not always the goal all over.

"We certainly mean to have an extremely significant brand presence in New Jersey," he said. "In other states, it will simply depend on policy and potentially who our regional partner is."

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

More on this story

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14 May 2018

Paddy Power buys fantasy sports betting site

23 May 2018