Ladbrokes shareholders have given its £2.3 billion mega-merger with Gala Coral the green light, despite opposition to the deal from Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond.

Investors holding 96 per cent of Ladbrokes shares backed the tie-up to form a gambling giant with more than 4,000 shops, overtaking the UK's biggest bookmaker William Hill.

But the deal will still need to get regulatory clearance and the pair are likely to have to sell shops to achieve the thumbs up from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Mr Desmond, who owns just under three per cent of Ladbrokes and is also the majority shareholder at Celtic Football Club, has also vowed to fight the merger - having called on investors to vote against it ahead of the meeting and voicing his concerns at the shareholder gathering.

He is concerned about the levels of debt Ladbrokes is taking on to complete the deal.

Gala recently announced the sale of 130 bingo clubs for £241 million to help pave the way for the proposed Ladbrokes merger.

The offloaded bingo clubs will continue to trade under the Gala brand through a licence agreement entered into by the two parties, it said.

Ladbrokes and Gala are joining forces to gain greater might in the face of new taxes and the need for more investment in marketing and technology.

It comes amid a wave of consolidation in the sector, with Irish chain Paddy Bower and online gambling group Betfair also set to merge in a £5 billion tie-up.

Ladbrokes recently revealed the impact of higher gaming taxes as it posted a 57 per cent fall in third quarter earnings.

It posted underlying earnings of £14.3m for the three months to the end of September, less than half the £33m seen a year earlier, although this also reflected investment in a turnaround plan launched earlier this year.