The future ownership of more than 50 Coral betting shops in the Republic is uncertain after a decision by the British Trade and Industry Minister, Mr Peter Mandelson.
The 50 outlets were part of a £375.5 million sterling takeover by Ladbrokes earlier this year, but Mr Mandelson has ordered that the deal in Britain be stopped. The Coral outlets in Britain will now have to be sold by Ladbrokes after Mr Mandelson agreed with the British Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) that the deal would damage competition and disadvantage punters.
While this does not strictly affect the sale of the 50 shops here to Ladbrokes, the company has confirmed to The Irish Times that the board of the British parent is reviewing the future of the Coral chain in the Republic.
The Irish element of the deal was cleared by the Competition Authority in the Republic mainly because Ladbrokes is not as dominant in the Irish market as in Britain.
At present Ladbrokes and Coral have about 125 shops in the Republic, with Ladbrokes holding 11 per cent market share and Coral 7 per cent.
The biggest chain in the Republic is Paddy Power Bookmakers which has about 28 per cent of the market. Mr Stewart Kenny, managing director of Paddy Power, said a change in ownership of the Coral shops would only mean a "change of paint on the door".
The deal was referred to the MMC in Britain for a full inquiry in March by then Trade and Industry Minister Ms Margaret Beckett.
Ladbroke based its case for the deal on the quarter-mile rule which was the cornerstone of the MMC's decision in 1989 to allow bookmaker William Hill to merge with Mecca.
The quarter-mile rule requires a bookmaker who buys a shop within a 440-yard radius of one of its existing outlets to have at least one competitor in the same area.
But Mr Mandelson said the merger between Mecca and William Hill was between the country's second and fourth-largest firms in the industry, leaving the new group still smaller than Ladbrokes.
Before the deal was announced, Ladbrokes was already the largest firm in Britain's off-course betting industry, with a chain of some 1,900 shops.
