UK sports betting companies bet on US after sports betting wager judgment

5 June 2018
bit.ly
By Natalie Sherman

Business press reporter, New York

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

From Tuesday, new guidelines on wagering entered into impact in Delaware, a small east coast state about 2 hours from Washington.

Neighbouring New Jersey might start 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 method for states to allow sports betting wagering.

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

For UK firms, which are facing debt consolidation, increased online competition and tougher guidelines from UK regulators, the timing is especially opportune.

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But the market states relying on the US stays a dangerous bet, as UK companies deal with complex state-by-state regulation and competition from entrenched local interests.

"It's something that we're actually focusing on, however equally we don't desire to overhype it," said James Midmer, spokesman at Paddy Power Betfair, which just recently acquired the US fantasy sports betting site FanDuel.

'Require time'

The US represented about 23% of the world's $244bn (₤ 182bn) in gaming earnings 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 overruled a 1992 federal law that disallowed states beyond Nevada and a couple of 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 local lawmakers.

That is anticipated to result in substantial variation in how companies get certified, where sports betting wagering can take place, and which events are open to speculation - with big ramifications for the size of the market.

Potential income from $4.2 bn to nearly $20bn each year depending upon elements like the number of states move to legalise, Oxford Economics approximated in a 2017 study for the American Gaming Association.
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"There was a lot of 'this is going to be substantial'", said Will Hawkley, London-based head of leisure for consultants KPMG.

Now, he stated: "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 require time'."

'Remains to be seen"

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

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 up until reasonably recently.

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

States have likewise been slow to legalise numerous types of online gaming, despite a 2011 Justice Department opinion that appeared to get rid of obstacles.

While sports betting is usually viewed in its own category, "it plainly remains to be seen whether it gets the type of momentum people think 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 former chief executive of BetonSports, who was arrested in the US in 2006 for running an offshore online sportsbook and served prison time.

Now an expert, he states UK companies need to approach the market thoroughly, choosing partners with caution and avoiding missteps that could cause regulator backlash.

"This is an opportunity for the American sports betting wagerer ... I'm unsure whether it is an opportunity for organization," he states. "It really is reliant on the outcome of [state] legislation and how business operators pursue the chance."

'It will be partnerships'
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As legalisation starts, sports betting firms are lobbying to fend off high tax rates, in addition to requests by US sports betting leagues, which wish to collect a percentage of earnings as an "stability charge".

International companies face the included obstacle of an effective existing gaming market, with gambling establishment operators, state-run lotteries and Native American people that are looking for to defend their grass.

Analysts say UK firms will need to strike partnerships, offering their proficiency and innovation in order to make inroads.

They point to SBTech's current statement that it is offering innovation for Kentucky Derby operator Churchill Downs as an example of the type of deals 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 simply depend'

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

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

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

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

Mr Asher said William Hill has become a family name in Nevada but that's not necessarily the goal everywhere.
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"We definitely mean to have an extremely considerable brand presence in New Jersey," he stated. "In other states, it will just depend upon regulation and potentially who our regional partner is."

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

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