Fox News reports that Spiderman movie star Tobey Maguire is one of a dozen Hollywood icons who are being sued in connection with an illegal gambling ring that allegedly ran multi-million dollar underground poker games in the United States.

Litigation claims are that Maguire won more than $300,000 worth of allegedly embezzled funds from hedge fund investor by Bradley Ruderman , who is currently in jail for a ponzi scheme.

The poker sessions, reportedly led by Ruderman, CEO of Ruderman Capital Partners , are unlicensed and illegal under California law. Investigators have claimed that Ruderman lost $25 million of investor money in the games, which were held bi-weekly in suites at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Viper Room and Four Seasons Hotel.

With Ruderman’s company now in bankruptcy, trustees are attempting to seize some of Maguire’s winnings to pay off creditors.

Other big Hollywood names who allegedly participated in high stakes Texas Hold’em games, which apparently had buy-ins as high as $100,000, reportedly included Nick Cassavetes , Gabe Kaplan, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

The Reuters news agency reports that the regulatory body that oversees Internet domain names has voted to revamp the domain naming system for websites, allowing them to end with words like “apple” and “orange” instead of suffixes such as “.com” or “.gov.”

“ICANN has opened the Internet’s naming system to unleash the global human imagination. Today’s decision respects the rights of groups to create new top level domains in any language or script,” the regulatory body said after a board meeting in Singapore.

“We hope this allows the domain name system to better serve all of mankind,” ICANN President and CEO Rod Beckstrom said in a statement.

ICANN, which stands for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, said it will accept applications for domains with new suffixes from January 12 next year.

Experts say corporations and cities should be among the first applicants to register for new generic top-level domain names (gTLDs), resulting in domain names ending in brands like .toyota, .apple, or place names like .newyork.

Today, just 22 gTLDs exist — .com, .org and .info are a few examples — plus about 250 country-level domains like .uk or .cn. After the change, several hundred new gTLDs are expected to come into existence.

New Jersey, the US state known for its progressive attitude toward online gambling is apparently considering the introduction of internet and mobile phone purchasing of state lottery numbers.

Carve-outs in federal legislation would enable such a move.

According to NJ.com, Assemblywoman Annette Quijano has proposed the change and believes online lottery sales would be a winner for the state. However, there is – inevitably – opposition from civil society groups , who have warned that selling lottery tickets through a website or via text message could put teenagers and problem gamblers at risk.

Convenience store owners also say they would lose out on sales of food and coffee to regulars who come in for their lottery tickets.

“Online lottery sales will retard the sales of all items,” said Sal Risalvato, executive director of the New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience, Automotive Association. “We make a nickel on the lottery ticket but a dollar on the cup of coffee. That is what is problematic to us.”

The New Jersey Lottery Commission has not yet taken a position on the proposal, reports NJ.com. The seven commission members, who are scheduled to meet this week, have only had informal discussions about offering online ticket sales, said Frank Ragazzo, the commission’s chairman.

Other states are betting on online sales to help boost lottery revenue. In November, Minnesota began offering online ticket subscriptions for Powerball, Mega Millions and other games. New York and Maryland are considering similar proposals.

Under Quijano’s bill, which has already passed the Assembly gaming committee, New Jersey residents would be permitted to buy state lottery tickets via the internet, e-mail, text messaging or “other electronic means.” The lottery commission could also pay winners through online lottery accounts or by direct deposit into their bank accounts.

Quijano’s bill proposes that 5% of online sales should go to lottery retailers to help ease the pain of any lost business caused by lottery sales going online. Only debit cards would be accepted for the purchase of lottery tickets via the internet or mobile phone. The bill also makes provision for online players to self-exclude themselves through the New Jersey Lottery Commission.

An identical bill, introduced by state Senator Raymond Lesniak, is pending in the Senate.

A 61-year old English grandfather of four has won a £391,146 cash jackpot on the 5-reel Leprechaun’s Luck slot at Gala Bingo. The man who wishes to remain anonymous is an aircraft refueller from Weston-Super-Mare in England and won the jackpot after logging in “to have a quick play late one night after being unable to sleep”.

“I keep pinching myself.” said the 61-year-old. “This kind of thing doesn’t happen to me. I’ve always longed to be my own boss and this win has allowed me to do just that. I’ve just handed in my notice and now plan to set up my own gardening business. I’m also looking forward to spoiling my family. My fifth grandchild is due in the summer and this win will allow us to treat the whole family.”

“We wish this lucky customer all the best in starting his new gardening business and spoiling his entire family.” said Lesley Whyte, Public Relations Manager for Gala Bingo.

Australian interactive media company Two Way Limited confirmed the launch of its TV wagering service TAB ACTIVE in Southern Australia this week.

The service has been offered to Tabcorp customers in Victoria and New South Wales since 2008 and has been extended to TattsBet customers in Queensland this month.

Viewers of the three Sky Racing channels on Foxtel are able to access the current days racing and wagering information as well as place bets through their existing wagering account with the local TAB operator.

Slotland online casino, which develops its own unique online games, has announced the launch of Tikal Treasure, a new ancient Mayan-themed 5 reel, 25 pay-line offering with a variety of features and a six-figure jackpot.

Tikal was the capital of one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya, and Tikal Treasure mimics the distinctive carvings of the ancient temples, with ornate symbols from Mayan astrology, stone masks, sun gods and mystical Mayan cats on the reels.

The Wild symbol in this game is the head of a Mayan totem pole. When it appears on any reel, animation morphs it into a spectacular symbol covering the whole reel. The Wild symbol then applies to all three rows.

To advance to the Bonus Round, players must collect orange stone balls, which automatically drop into the receptacles below when they appear on any reel. Five orange balls trigger the Bonus Round where the goal is to create a winning horizontal, vertical or diagonal line of three or more of the same adjacent symbols. Players have five chances to destroy any block on the reels causing another block to drop down to replace it. A line of three or more of the same symbols pays off to the player’s cash balance according to the payoff chart.

Like all of the online slots at Slotland, Tikal Treasure is tied to the casino’s progressive jackpot. According to Mayan mythology, the god Quetzalcoatl is a giver of life; in the new Tikal Treasure slot machine, the 5 Quetzalcoatl symbols in a row on a minimum $20 bet wins the jackpot.

Online gambling giant Bwin.party digital entertainment and FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, have extended their marketing and media rights agreement for FIBA events for the Bwin sports betting brand until 2014.

The rights include EuroBasket 2011, the 2012 Olympic qualifying tournaments, EuroBasket 2013 and the 2014 FIBA World Championships, an event that will be held for both men and women.

Norbert Teufelberger, co-CEO of bwin.party digital entertainment, said: “The promotion of sports has always been an essential component of the bwin sports brand philosophy. Basketball, along with football and motorcycle racing, is one of the three pillars of our sport sponsorship strategy.”

Patrick Baumann, FIBA secretary general and International Olympic Committee member, commented: “We are very happy to announce that bwin.party will continue to be a global partner of FIBA until 2014.

“This extension of the rights agreement proves that basketball offers a positive and growing platform for its sponsors. At the same time bwin.party is a key ally in our efforts to fight illegal betting and to achieve a working relationship with the gaming industry.”

For bwin’s sports betting customers the extension of the FIBA sponsorship comes with live streaming rights for the respective FIBA tournaments in more than 30 European countries. Active bwin sports betting customers can watch all matches for free.

The Icelandic internet gambling software provider Betware has launched a new mobile solution for Iceland’s Islensk Getspa national lottery, allowing players to participate in that nation’s Lotto and Viking Lotto games using smartphones. The Lotto and Viking Lotto games come with the same features found on those purchased through more traditional channels including quick picks and the ability to manually select numbers.

“The advancement of mobile technology opens up new opportunities that go beyond ordinary phone services,” said Stefan Hrafnkelsson, chief executive for Betware.

“Betware’s strategy is based upon supporting our customers by offering their players top-class products that follow the latest market trends and open new opportunities. We are very proud to offer this solution for Islensk Getspa and are confident it will increase its lottery sales.”

The new mobile solution has been designed to take advantage of smartphone technology and players can, for example, shake their handsets in order to select random numbers. Users can also access their lottery accounts and e-wallets while being able to view the latest game results.

Stefan Konradsson, CEO for Islensk Getspa, said: “The smartphone market will continue to grow rapidly in the future. For Islensk Getspa to be able to offer a new, easy to play and on the move solution is an important step in keeping up with player demand and the overall player experience.”

Genera Networks has signed a contract with Norsk Tipping of Norway as a preferred Game Provider for Multix , the Interactive Video Terminal (IVT) platform. Following a public procurement process, Genera Networks will provide Norsk Tipping with high-performance games proven online and optimised for the Norwegian wide area market. The contract will run for three years, with a possible extension of one year.

Genera Networks’ games are provided by its partners Microgaming and Sweden’s Play’n GO and will appear in three thousand IVT terminals throughout Norway starting in Q3,2011.

”We are very pleased to be chosen as a preferred game provider for Norsk Tipping. It proves that it’s not about size in the regulated market, but about understanding the requirements of the lotteries and managing the process”, says Genera Networks CEO Jan Stocklassa .

“This marks a new era for Norsk Tipping and Multix,” said Torbjørn Almlid , CEO of Norsk Tipping. “It is important for us to offer exciting and entertaining games that meet the expectations of customers playing Multix.

“We aim to continue our success with Multix and keep generating profits for good causes while minimizing problem gambling. Genera Networks’ dedication and knowledge bodes well for our future co-operation and we have high expectations for this partnership.”

According to land gambling conference organisers Spectrum Gaming Group it is a question of when, not if, Internet gambling will be legalised in the foreseeable future in the United States, either at the federal level or the states level – or possibly both.

That being the case, SGG has reserved a full session in its East Coast Gaming Congress next week to discuss the legalisation of online gambling, an indication of the growing importance of the sector to land gambling companies in the United States.

The dedicated session will be sponsored by Global Gaming Business, with four expert speakers – Melanie Brenner of the US Online Gaming Association; Richard Bronson, chairman of US Digital Gaming; The Honorable John Burzichelli from the New Jersey State Assembly; and Jan Jones, Senior Vice President at Caesars Entertainment – expected to share their perspectives on the issues.

Gene Johnson, senior associate for market research at Spectrum Gaming Group, and a co-organiser and co-producer of the event, will moderate the panel, titled “Internet Gambling: The Game Changer.”

The 15th annual East Coast Gaming Congress runs from May 23 to 24 at the Atlantic City Convention Center, hosting some 600 land gaming operators, equipment manufacturers, regulators, attorneys, architects, analysts, public officials, investors and other gaming-related professionals.

The agenda lists six CEO keynote presentations, a regional panel covering the competitive challenges and outlook in the mid-Atlantic region, a Wall Street panel featuring some of the industry’s leading analysts, and a special session on the potential impacts of the legalisation of Internet gaming.