"I hope..." is more formal, but "I'm hoping..." is commonly used as well. Using "I'm hoping" emphasizes the personal and active interest of the subject, such as: "I'm hoping that I can get court-side seats to the game." If you were to instead say "I hope I can get court-side seats to the game," this sounds more like a passing interest, like "Oh, that would be nice, but if not oh well." In the first statement it is more like "I would really like that, and I will be disappointed if I can't get them."