The UK’s competition watchdog has conditionally approved the proposed £2.3b merger of bookmakers Ladbrokes and Gala Coral Group, provided the companies shed up to 400 of their retail betting shops.

On Friday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) gave provisional approval to the Lads-Coral merger, subject to the condition that the enlarged group sells off 350 to 400 betting shops. The number is well below the 1k shops that earlier reports had suggested were under the CMA’s axe.

Between them, the two companies currently operate over 4k shops, roughly 46% of the 8,819 shops the UK market boasted as of Sept. 30, 2015. The CMA says it identified 659 local areas where the proximity of Lads and Coral shops would have resulted in a “substantial loss of competition” if the shops remain under current ownership.

The CMA expressed concern that Lads-Coral’s retail dominance in these areas could lead to less favorable odds or lower betting limits for punters, and rejected suggestions that punters could avoid this fate by choosing to wager online. The CMA acknowledged that online betting was a growing market but said the evidence showed many retail punters remain wedded to patronizing their local shops.