BUZZ-UK bookmakers: worsening odds

Short-sellers have UK bookmakers' shares in their crosshairs asonline competition, tougher regulations and declining profitstake their toll.

** Markit reports a surge in demand to borrow shares.

** Ladbrokes has 6% of its outstanding shares out onloan as some investors bet that the stock's recent bounce from a28-month low will be short-lived.

** Ladbrokes gets 72 percent of its revenue from physicalstores, Markit says, which are most affected by higher UK taxes.

** William Hill is 17th among FTSE 100 constituentsranked by demand to borrow.

** Both Ladbrokes & William Hill big underperformers thisyear, down 20 pct and 15 respectively, vs a 0.7 percent declinefor FTSE 350 travel and leisure index.

(RM: atul.prakash.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; RM:vikram.subhedar.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)