The online sports betting provider, Betfair, has set a price range for its shares ahead of the plans to list the company on the London Stock Exchange (LSE)

The gaming company which was founded 10 years ago has set a range of between £11 and £14 per share and hopes to raise between £1.16bn and £1.48bn. At the target levels the company which has grown into the largest business of its kind would be listed on the FTSE 250 index.

Betfair currently has three million customers on its unique person-to-person betting system in which punters can bet on a range of sports. The difference between the Betfair model and a traditional bookmakers is that Betfair customers bet against one another rather than the company. The company is also involved in poker and traditional casino betting forums.

The company commented last month that it had identified "multiple opportunities to secure future growth" including the "high-growth" football market. The company plans to increase its operations in the rest of Europe and Australia and in the longer term within the currently "highly restricted" markets of the United States, India and China.