William Hill has become the UK's biggest bookmaker after buying the betting shops of rival Stanley Leisure for £504m ($931m).
The purchase adds an extra 624 outlets to William Hill's existing 1,600-strong shop portfolio.

The move will see it overtake Ladbrokes, which has 2,000 outlets.

William Hill said the takeover would enable it to expand into areas where it was unrepresented - both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

It does not expect any problems from the Office of Fair Trading, due to the highly competitive gambling market.