UK-listed bookmaker Ladbrokes has postponed the release of its online revival plan due to its proposed £3.5b merger talks with rival bookies Gala Coral Group.

On Monday, Ladbrokes CEO Jim Mullen announced that the results of the company’s strategic review of its lagging digital division would remain secret “until further notice.” Given that all hands on deck are currently playing merger thunderdome, there’s no time to wax rhapsodically about online visions.

The proposed merger has a long way to go before it’s a reality – Gala Coral CEO Carl Leaver said the process could take up to 12 months – but the new entity would control over 4k betting shops in the UK, about 45% of the total market and nearly twice that of closest rival William Hill. Gala Coral’s overachieving online operations would also give Lads’ flaccid digital willie a proper stiffie.

On paper, the merger is peanut butter and chocolate. Lads is considered the more dominant retail performer while Gala Coral’s digital division easily trumps Lads’ offering. But who gets to control what will be one of the key stumbling blocks in the months of talks that lie ahead. Whoever emerges triumphant will affect where the majority of the expected redundancies will be made.