UK-licensed online gambling operator Sky Betting & Gaming (SB&G) is prepping an initial public offering, according to media reports.

On Monday, Reuters reported that SB&G’s majority owner, private equity group CVC Capital Partners, had hired investment bankers Rothschild to examine the possibility of a public float that could value the company at between £2.5b and £3b (including debt).

It was only last November that SB&G CEO Richard Flint told analysts that CVC could consider SB&G’s IPO options at some future date but there were “no current plans” to go down that route.

The timing could suggest that CVC wants to take advantage of an expected clampdown on the fixed-odds betting terminals in high-street betting shops, which could make online-only companies like SB&G appear the safer bet for gambling industry investors.