The comments contradicted a report in The Mail on Sunday which claimed merger talks between the two had hit a stumbling block over the price and Ladbrokes was close to walking away.

In an interview with Reuters on Monday, Levy confirmed negotiations were continuing.

"It's definitely not off the table. There is still interest on both sides in doing a deal. Every big deal has complexities (but) there's nothing which is a big sticking point," Levy said.

"There's a variety of things (to negotiate) like in any deal. We're trying to see whether we can tackle them or not," he added.