Less than a week ago, the NFC’s Green Bay Packers defeated the AFC’s Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. Based on the early betting odds for Super Bowl XLVI, the Packers (at 7/1 odds) are the favorite to repeat as Super Bowl champions in 2012.

Other favorites to win the 2012 Super Bowl are the AFC’s New England Patriots (15/2) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (10/1). The long-shots to win the Super Bowl XLVI are the Carolina Panthers (125/1) and the Buffalo Bills (100/1).

Here are the current “NFL football futures” odds for the 2012 Super Bowl XLVI, courtesy of bodog.com.

Odds to win the 2012 Super Bowl XLVI

NFL TEAM	ODDS
Arizona Cardinals	75/1
Atlanta Falcons	16/1
Baltimore Ravens	14/1
Buffalo Bills	100/1
Carolina Panthers	125/1
Chicago Bears	25/1
Cincinnati Bengals	60/1
Cleveland Browns	65/1
Dallas Cowboys	16/1
Denver Broncos	60/1
Detroit Lions	40/1
Green Bay Packers	7/1
Houston Texans	35/1
Indianapolis Colts	14/1
Jacksonville Jaguars	65/1
Kansas City Chiefs	35/1
Miami Dolphins	50/1
Minnesota Vikings	40/1
New England Patriots	15/2
New Orleans Saints	14/1
New York Giants	18/1
New York Jets	14/1
Oakland Raiders	40/1
Philadelphia Eagles	16/1
Pittsburgh Steelers	10/1
San Diego Chargers	12/1
San Francisco 49ers	40/1
Seattle Seahawks	80/1
St. Louis Rams	40/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	35/1
Tennessee Titans	50/1
Washington Redskins	50/1

Placing a “futures bet” on the Super Bowl is very popular with NFL football fans. Before you place a bet it’s a good idea to get some football betting tips.

source: bodog.com

Sport books, casinos and betting websites have become very creative in the Super Bowl bets they offer. Besides just betting on a winner or loser, you can bet on specific events within the game itself. These Super Bowl prop bets offer betting options to a wider audience – not just avid football fans and handicappers.

For Super Bowl XLV, you will be able to bet on almost anything related to the Super Bowl.  You can place a bet on whether Christina Aguilera wears a cowboy hat while singing the National Anthem, or how many points the Steelers will score in the first quarter, or which team will punt the ball first, or even which team will win the coin toss. “Exotic” is the name of the game for these super bowl prop betting options.

There is another type of proposition (or exotic) bet offered by sports books that involve a specific Super Bowl outcome combined with an outcome in another sport. These prop bets are known as Cross Sports Prop Bets. These exotic bets are more risky than traditional bets. You must win both outcomes to win the cross sports prop bet.

Here are just some of the Super Bowl XLV Cross Sports Prop Bets available for wagering on:

• Will the Pittsburgh Steelers win the Super Bowl and Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2011?
• Blake Griffin (LAC) Total Rebounds against Miami Heat vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Total Points
• Rajon Rondo (BOS) Total Points + Assists against Orlando Magic vs. Green Bay Packers Total Points
• Total Field Goals made in the Super Bowl vs Washington Capitals Goals against Pittsburgh Penguins
• Total Punts made in the Super Bowl vs 3 Point Shots made in Heat -Clippers Game
• Which Game will have the larger Winning Margin?
  Super Bowl XLV or Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics
• LeBron James 1st half points against Clippers vs. Green Bay Packers 1st Half Points
• Total TD’s in Super Bowl vs. Total Goals in Penguins/Capitals game (2/6/11)
• Green Bay Packers win Super Bowl and Milwaukee Brewers win on MLB Opening Day (3/31/11)?
• Pittsburgh Steelers win Super Bowl, Pittsburgh Penguins beat Washington Capitals (2/6/11) and Pittsburgh Pirates win on MLB Opening Day (4/1/11)?

Cross sports prop bets may not be for everyone but this type of exotic super bowl wagering can be very exciting and a lot of fun.

source: bodog.com, wikipedia.com

The Super Bowl is less than a week away and I bet you just can’t wait. Super Bowl Sunday has got to be the biggest gambling day in America. It’s the one day where even the super religious might take a chance in a Super Bowl pool.

Super Bowl gambling has become so big that you can bet on almost anything related to the Super Bowl. Besides betting who the winner will be, you can bet on an assortment of team or individual performances. You can bet who will be the MVP, who will be the first to score and even bet the over/under on the offensive production of both team’s stars.

Then the bets get weirder. Did you know that you can bet on what color will the Gatorade dumped on the winning head coach be?

• Yellow is the favorite at even money
• Green +250
• Orange +500
• Red +1500
• Blue +1200

Maybe you want to bet an over/under on how many times:

• Archie Manning will be shown on TV. The over/under is 4.5
• Kim Kardasian will be shown on TV: over/under = 2.5
• Hurricane Katrina will be mentioned: over/under = 3

How about some other Law and Order related bets, like:

• How many current NFL players will be arrested during Super Bowl week?
• None = minus 170 (meaning the odds of at least one is 37%) OR

Will a player give the crowd the “middle finger”?

• Yes = 8 to 1 against

But what if you’re not a football fan, or even a sports fan. Let’s say you’re a music fan. Well don’t worry, there’s something here for you too!

You can bet whether:

• The Who will smash a guitar on stage during the halftime show? No = -180 (meaning the chance is 35%) OR
• how many times will Pete Townshend do his famous windmill move? Over/Under = 6

So is Super Bowl Sunday for everyone? You better, you better, you bet!

The complete list of Super Bowls bets

sources: usatoday.com, pregame.com