IAC chairman, and MGM Resorts board member Barry Diller, told CNBC that the operator’s largest shareholder is willing to contribute up to $1bn in its bid to takeover Ladbrokes and Coral operator Entain, previously known as GVC Holdings.

Last week, MGM Resorts confirmed it had made a proposed offer for Entain worth $11bn, with Entain saying the bid “significantly undervalues the company.”

While MGM Resorts said there was no certainty that an offer would be made by the 1 February deadline, IAC, which purchased a 12% stake in the operator worth $1bn last August, pledged its support for the potential acquisition, will Diller making clear its online gaming intentions.

IAC chairman Diller said: “We are completely supportive of it (the offer). Whether it will happen or not, whoever knows in these things?

“I think it is a fantastic combination. I can’t imagine anybody, I have not heard a word from anyone saying “this is a reach” or “this doesn’t make sense”, etc. So as a combination it is perfect. Whether it will happen or not, the stars have to align and all of that.

“Whether or not it happens, MGM is going to be in the online business. It already is in the US very significantly. It will invest to get there. All over the world it will become a leader in the next years.

“There is no question that over the next years, online gaming worldwide is going to grow. As online transfers of everything has grown over the last decades. That is a certainty.”