Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Allen & Overy (A&O) have won lead roles on the upcoming £1bn initial public offering (IPO) of online gambling company Betfair.

Freshfields is advising Betfair with a team including M&A partners Martin Taylor and Tim Jones (pictured) alongside senior associates Richard Blair and Doug Smith.

Taylor said: "There has obviously been more consolidation in the gaming sector over recent months. We have been working with the company for about seven years and they are one of the real successes of the dotcom boom. This listing was the next logical outcome for them."

Meanwhile, A&O is advising the underwriters, which include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays Capital and Numis.

Corporate partner David Broadley is leading the firm's team alongside corporate finance partner Robert Williams and senior associate Niti Gupta.

The instruction for Freshfields comes after the firm also advised on the €2bn (£1.7bn) merger of PartyGaming and bwin Interactive Entertainment in July this year, a deal which also handed roles to Clifford Chance and Bird & Bird. Freshfields acted for PartyGaming, while Bwin was advised by CC and Bird & Bird.

Freshfields also took a lead role on Betfair's £1.5bn sale of a 23% stake to Japan's SoftBank Corporation in 2006.