Sportech plans online push with Vernon’s Football Pools

Final clearance for the deal is expected in October, and the deal is reported to be worth around £50m.

The Commission said it could find no evidence that punters switched between Littlewoods (500,000 players a week) and its major rival Vernons (300,000 players) even when prices were raised mailshots targeted the other's customers. When the 33,000 Zetters customers are included, it looks as if Sportech will have virtually the whole football pools market.

However chief executive Ian Penrose said the intention behind the merger is to create a much broader football gaming offering, using the internet and mobile phones, in which pools will play a relatively small part.