Bookmakers Ladbrokes and Gala Coral will have to sell between 350 and 400 shops to win clearance for their UK merger, the British competition regulator has said.

Shares traded in Ladbrokes changed little in London yesterday, suggesting that an 11th-hour intervention by stakeholder Dermot Desmond calling for it to scupper plans to buy rival bookie Gala Coral will continue to fall on deaf ears.

Betting firm Gala Coral has announced the sale of 130 bingo clubs for £241m.

British bookmaker, Ladbrokes is expecting annual operating profits to fall around £20m (€28m) short of expectations, this year.

Shares in British bookmaker Ladbrokes jumped 20%, at one point yesterday, on news of its merger talks with Gala Coral, designed to create a $5 billion (€4.5bn) giant with the capacity to advance in the online gambling market.