(Bloomberg) -- Lottomatica, the Italian gambling company backed Apollo Global Management Inc., plans to begin taking investor orders as soon as this week for an initial public offering that could raise about €600 million ($657 million) to €700 million, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The company expects to get the green light to launch the offering from Consob, Italy’s market regulator, in the coming days, the people said. It plans to list shares in Milan by the end of the month in a deal that could give it a market value of as much as €3 billion, the people said. 

Lottomatica said last week it wants to raise €425 million through the issue of new shares. Selling shareholders will account for the remainder of the offering’s final amount. 

Barclays Plc, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UniCredit SpA in cooperation with Kepler Cheuvreux are working as joint global coordinators on the deal.

Lottomatica operates in Italy’s regulated gaming market and is active in the online, sports betting and slot machine segments. It’s one of the few companies trying to tap the traditionally busy post-Easter window for listings in Europe.

The region’s IPO market effectively shut last year as rising interest rates and heightened inflation pushed investors into risk-off mode. But a handful of companies are betting that rising equity indexes in recent weeks will boost appetite for new stocks. 

Lottomatica and its advisers decided to price in the usual IPO discount, as well as a rebate for it being one of the few big listings in Europe, the people said. 

Deliberations are ongoing and no final decisions on the size and timing of the IPO have been taken, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. A representative for Lottomatica declined to comment.

Apollo Capital Solutions, Banca Akros SpA, BNP Paribas SA and Mediobanca are working as joint bookrunners on the Lottomatica IPO, while Equita SIM is co-manager and Credit Suisse Group AG is financial adviser.

(Adds IPO adviser in fourth paragraph.)

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