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As this season’s National Football League (NFL) playoffs get underway this weekend, the Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers sit atop the list of favourites to win Super Bowl XLIV next month.

The Colts finished the regular season with 14 triumphs and only two defeats to win its AFC South division and is now resting up in preparation for the victor of this weekend’s Wild-Card game.

PaddyPower.com and StanJames.com are offering Indianapolis at odds of 5/2 to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy on February 7 in Miami while SportingBet.com, BoyleSports.com, BlueSq.com, 888Sport.com and Ladbrokes.com show 11/4.

Slightly longer, punters can get odds of 147/50 from Betfair.com on the Colts winning its third Super Bowl title while WBX.com is showing 281/100 followed by BetDaq.com, SkyBet.com, BetFred.com, ToteSport.com, WilliamHill.com and Coral.co.uk with 3/1.

Indianapolis’ two defeats came during its final pair of regular season match-ups as the franchise rested key players in preparation for the playoffs. (Read the full post about ‘Colts favoured for Super Bowl XLIV glory – Online Casino News’…)

NFL fans gear up to go crazy at Super Bowl XLIV with the leading online poker sites awarding access to executive prize packages in three online ‘Touchdown’ tournaments.

UB.com and AbsolutePoker.com are giving online poker players the chance to soak up the smell of the pigskin this winter with a dedicated tournament series that will award seats at the Super Bowl XLIV. T

(Read the full post about ‘Poker 2010 Super Bowl Giveaway’…)

The leading online poker site has signed a sponsorship agreement with the National Hockey League’s Calgary Flames, and to celebrate, they are giving away tickets to the Flaming C’s March 11 home game.

A highlight of the UB.net sponsorship agreement will see the free online poker site’s logo debut on dual Rinkboards at the Flames home arena when the Alberta team bursts onto the ice to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 2nd, 2010. To celebrate the Calgary collaboration at not just one, but eight home games during the month of January, UB.net is giving U.S.

(Read the full post about ‘Calgary Flames and Online Poker Room UB.com Forge Deal’…)

In Sweden an unidentified online gambling company has voluntarily paid back 4.9 million kronor (around $673,000) stolen by a gambling addict from her employer and wagered at its website.

The unnamed problem gambler was in charge of an Uppsala company’s finances and siphoned off some 15 million kronor to finance her gambling addiction. The embezzled funds had an enormously adverse impact on the company, which had to lay off some of its employees as a result.

When the woman’s unlawful acts were detected she was sentenced by a local court to three years in prison, and ordered to repay 10 million kronor to the company.

(Read the full post about ‘Swedish gambling site repays problem gambler’s stolen cash’…)

Rep. Barney Frank It has been a bittersweet year for online casinos when it comes to the US. The country has actively gone after several online companies, while at the same time, members of Congress were working towards changing Internet gambling laws.

Representative Barney Frank has been at the front of the push for regulated online gambling in the US since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was conceived back in December of 2006.

Since then, Frank has attempted to overturn the law, but in 2008 Frank’s efforts were turned away from a largely Republican legislature. (Read the full post about ‘Online Casinos Head To New Year With Hope For US Law Changes’…)

The so-called sweepstakes parlours in North Carolina have dodged the legal bullet following a finding by an appeals court which preserved a broad ban on physical video poker machines, but found that phone card sweepstakes do not at present constitute illegal conduct.

Sweepstakes parlours sell phone cards to punters which gives them Internet time on virtual video poker slot machines, creating a legal loophole which has been the cause of repeated clashes between enforcement officials and sweepstakes parlour operators in the United States.

This week the media in Raleigh, North Carolina reported that the court finding supports operator claims that their business isn’t gambling because patrons are paying for computer time or a phone card.

(Read the full post about ‘North Carolina rules phone card sweepstakes gambling legal… for now’…)

Having failed in its attempt to set up land-based betting shops in Italy, the United Kingdom’s biggest bookmaker will try once more by marketing its online poker and casino platform to the country.

The company will offer Texas Hold ‘em tournaments to Italian players, in compliance with Italy’s gaming regulations.

Chris Bell, chief executive of Ladbrokes, had this to say about the move into Italy: "We are committed to expanding the international reach of our online business and Italy is an excellent regulated market opportunity.

"We hope that further positive changes in regulations in Italy will allow us to further expand our product range by launching cash games in poker, as well as bingo and casino gaming later this year."

Ladbrokes is also looking to win a national online gambling license in Spain.

Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com 

The travel industry, including a reeling Las Vegas, has its battle plans drawn. An epidemic of new or increased travel taxes-increasingly prompted by governmental budget quagmires–has spurred the travel industry to unite to battle the spread, writes Mary Ann McNulty of the Travel Management Blog.

Next year, the U.S. Travel Advisory Board anticipates creation of an advisory board that would focus on informing of the pros and cons of taxes.  With the economy in freefall, more and more travelers are scrutinizing every single fee including state taxes.

USTA senior vice president Geoffrey Freeman told Travel Management: "There’s no doubt, based on every bit of evidence, that localities and states are more desperate than ever for every bit of revenue," Freeman said.

(Read the full post about ‘Las Vegas, Travel Industry Worried Over State Tax Hikes’…)

BetClic is a major European online sports book that started trading in 2005. The business now has more than 1.5 million customers and is committed to offering its customers the very best gaming experience.

"We are excited about the prospect of adding quality branded content to our current portfolio," said BetClic CEO Nicolas Beraud. "CryptoLogic games are instantly recognisable and are developed to the highest industry standards. This partnership further enhances our commitment to offering the best gaming experience to our diverse customer base."

CryptoLogic has one of the most sophisticated casino offerings on the Internet, with award-winning games featuring some of the world's most famous comic, action, and entertainment characters.

(Read the full post about ‘BetClic Bets on CryptoLogic’…)

This evening’s edition of NFL Monday Night Football sees last season’s losing Super Bowl team, the Arizona Cardinals, travel north for a divisional match-up with the San Francisco 49ers.

Arizona are closing in on the NFC West divisional title with a tally of eight wins to four losses and could clinch a post-season spot with a win against the 49ers, who are in second with five victories and seven losses.

These two teams last met in the season opener with the 49ers running out 20 points to 16 winners but the best odds on lightning striking twice is the 13/10 from ExtraBet.com. (Read the full post about ‘Arizona could clinch post-season spot tonight – Online Casino News’…)