As our staff reported in April, Gala, the UK’s top bingo operator, is preparing to go public, following the passing of the UK Gambling Bill. With the new gambling law, Gala will be able to raise prize values and advertise, so the number of customers is expected to increase dramatically.

UBS and Deutsche Bank have been asked to join banking giant Merrill Lynch to advise Gala about the upcoming float. Until now, Gala was owned by private equity groups Cinven and Candover. In January, Gala was able to return £275 million of their debts to the investors.

The company is estimated to have an enterprise value of £1.8 billion, including debts. While the float hasn’t been officially announced or finalized yet, analysts expect bidding to be competitive.