THE Crystal Gaming Group, which runs online casinos in South Africa and the US, is lining up to float on AIM.

The Isle of Man-based group is believed to have appointed Seymour Pierce to advise on the listing, which is expected to put a value of £140m on the firm.

Crystal claims to be the third-largest online casino on the basis of the number of visits to its sites, which include Crystalpalacecasino.com.

Warren Cloud, the 32-year-old South African founder of the business, and his family will retain a 45% stake in the company.

Despite growing scepticism in the City about online gaming businesses, Seymour Pierce is confident that the group’s track record — in the 12 months to June 2005 the group made a pre-tax profit of £20.4m — and the fact that the management are not selling shares will attract investors.

The £47m raised from the float will be used by Crystal to develop an online poker business.

Elsewhere in the gaming industry, Alchemy Partners, the private-equity group, has emerged as front-runner to acquire Buckingham Bingo, the northwest-based group, for about £100m.

Alchemy has edged ahead of rival firms, including Duke Street Capital, to buy the business from majority shareholder and chairman Panico Panayi.

It is not clear whether Alchemy, which is currently bidding for a number of leisure assets, will back the existing management or has its own team lined up. Alchemy declined to comment.