Betting group Flutter Entertainment, the owner of Paddy Power, Betfair and PokerStars, is considering listing a small shareholding of its US FanDuel business. 

Its shares soared in Dublin trade this morning. 

Flutter, the world's largest online betting group, has identified the United States as its next big growth market after a ban on sports betting was lifted in 2018.

In December it increased its stake in FanDuel to 95% in a $4.2 billion deal.

The Irish company said it was making the disclosure in response to media speculation about a possible FanDuel initial public offering.

CNBC reported on Friday that Flutter was considering spinning out the business.

"Options including the listing in the US of a small shareholding in FanDuel are being considered but no decision has been made at this time," Flutter said in a statement. 

Flutter, which merged its US business with FanDuel in 2018, bought a 37.2% stake from Fastball in the December deal. 

That left the door open to further involvement by US-based FOX Sports, owned by Fox Corporation, giving it the option in July to buy 18.5% of FanDuel in addition to its current 2.5% stake. 

Flutter, which maintains a 40% share of the market in the US, earlier this month said it expects more than $19.49 billion worth of business to be up for grabs by 2025 as more states than previously anticipated open up.

In February it said revenue in the US exceeded that of its two nearest competitors combined, including biggest rival DraftKings.