Gala Coral, which owns the 144 club Gala Bingo chain, 26 casino venues, online gaming websites and the Coral bookmaking chain, could be set for a break-up in the not to distant future.

Previous reports had suggested that there “have been board-level battles over the company's direction and how shareholders can extract value.” Sources suggested the emphasise was in the bookmaking operations: “The jewel in the crown is the Coral bookmaking chain and the word is that everything else, including the casinos and the bingo division, is up for sale.”

Investors are looking to get the best return on their investment and reports suggest the breakup could happen shortly after the decision in relation to the state owned bookmaker. The second round of bidding for the Tote was concluded on Friday and Gala Coral is one of the parties that are expected to be one of the front runners.

Reports in the media this weekend suggest that the former Gala chairman, John Kelly, has made an unsuccessful bid for the bingo clubs. Industry experts have also suggested there are several investors ‘very closely monitoring the situation’. Newspaper reports claimed that the Rank Group is considering its own bids. While this is no surprise it is not know whether this is in relation to the casino or bingo operations. Rank is looking to greatly expand its current 55 casino sites over the next two years but may have competition from a ‘variety of investors’. While Rank is expected to be interested in the Gala Casinos it may face opposition from the monopolies commission if it looks to purchase the Gala Bingo clubs.