The stakes are high for bankers involved in the bidding war developing for gambling firm Bwin.party, which could lead to a rare $1 billion-plus deal for four mid-market advisers in the UK.

GVC Holdings, an AIM-listed betting group, confirmed on Tuesday that it had submitted a takeover proposal for Bwin.Party that would be jointly financed by Amaya, the Canadian gaming company that owns online gambling brands PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.