Social Responsibility Anyone?

What better present to buy your children than an early introduction to casino gaming through the all-in-one casino gambling game?

Presumably that must be the Fixed Football Match game just underneath it! Simply buy the game, then buy the players, then... buy the referee. Suitable for all ages.

Serbia Issues List of Blocked Gambling Sites

It was reported yesterday that Internet Service Providers in Serbia have received a letter stating 70 internet address that need to be blocked.

Participation in games of chance from abroad was banned last year and according to the law, which is far from clear, only those with a permit can operate within online gambling.

Aleksandar Vulović, Director of Serbian Gaming Board, reportedly told Blic Newspaper: "We had to prevent access to illegal gambling in order to have a regulated market, players who operate within the law and from which the state can reap benefits. Currently the organization of games of chance via the internet is one of the most profitable industries and it is estimated that the revenue will double by 2013. It is simply wrong and no longer legal, that the state does not collect a penny of the millions circulating within this industry".

A list of the 70 sites has been issued and we think can be found on these two links 1- 38 & 39 - 70.

Some highlights are: Bwin, Mybet, Bet-at-home, 888, Betfair, Skybet, William Hill.

The list has been sent to ISPs who have responded by throwing this hot potato to their legal departments with little comment.


There is a suggestion that ISPs could be prosecuted if they do not fall into line. In fact it will be hard to implement because nowhere in the Law on Games on Chance does it state that providers need to take such measures. Realistically speaking, even if ISPs do block a domain it is technically difficult to avoid access through other domains and furthermore, according to Vojislav Rodic, director of "INet" and a former president of Association of Internet Providers, such rules can only be issued through a court.

This is only the beginning of a process which will be a little tortuous to say the least. Currently the Serbian National Lottery operates a gaming site and, if these blocks are implemented, it will drive a certain amount of traffic and money to their coffers but it is doubtful that it will have such a significant effect. They could also actively work towards issuing licenses for online gambling but in a country of around 8 million one wonders whether this would be worth it for the larger European operators.

Festive Cheer from EGC

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from eGaming Consulting!

Why not make a resolution you will keep and come meet us at ICE, 24th – 26th Jan.

It’s a busy event so email us at info@egamingc.com to arrange a time.

Jawbone issues refunds for its Up health band

Jawbone is issuing refunds and recalling Up wristbands and has decided to stop producing them for the time being. Why? Well Apparently they have problems synchronizing and issues with battery life. I have been using one for 10 days now and here is why I think they are back-tracking faster than Usain Bolt on rewind.

Jawbone UP: The concept  To be healthy we need to Move, Eat and Sleep, well. The concept of the Jawbone UP band and App is pretty simple: Track your steps taken, your workout, how you sleep and the food you take in and improve all these areas of your life.

The wristband and the app. The first thing to say is that the design and comfort of the band itself is really pretty good. It is in no way uncomfortable and comes in various sizes and colours with a rubberized finish and attractive silver trim.  Jawbone claims the UP is water resistant to 1 metre. I wore it in the shower and it was fine but not sure I would risk much more than that.

I was concerned about the cap coming off and it did on one occasion in a struggle with my fidgety 4 month old. This is a bit of a risk in my opinion and I wonder how long the cap will stay firmly attached, especially after some use.

This brings me neatly onto how often the cap needs to be taken off. Probably the most annoying thing about the UP is the necessity to plug the band into the iPhone / iPad in order to sync with the App. Bluetooth would be much better but of course there are concerns over battery life – which at the moment is pretty good.

Actually perhaps the most annoying thing is that the band does not charge off the device but rather through a USB port. This seems strange for something with no personal web interface. The app is where the reporting begins and ends.

There are 3 modes for the Up bracelet to work in: Active, Workout and Sleep. Active traces your steps taken, Workout, erm… does the same and Sleep tracks your sleep patterns and wakes you up. All of which you have to remember to manually switch between and all of which work towards goals or ideals you have set in the App.

I downloaded the App, which is straightforward and pretty clear to use. You can set it up your goals and challenges pretty quickly, find friends, add them to your team and even have common challenges. It looks good but there are occasional bugs such as the automatic landscape view not resetting when the phone is tilted back.

Move: Keeping active
Here’s the thing about tracking steps taken; the band is on your arm and I am not sure how accurate it is. For example I may be sitting at a desk talking in an animated fashion (I am half Italian) and my arms may be clocking up the miles whilst my lower body grows podgy in an office chair. The reminder to exercise may not be triggered because the UP thinks I am actually being quite active.

Eat: Concentrate here’s the science part.
Ah, who am I kidding? The meal aspect is a little unscientific, I mean very unscientific and is perhaps the most annoying thing about the Up. I was not expecting the app to recognize the food I was eating or for the bracelet to sense the calories of it but to simply take a photo and then assign an emoticon to it feels a little shit cheap. I live outside the UK and on the rare occasions I get to have a full English breakfast I feel absolutely elated! Firstly there was no emoticon for “absolutely elated” and secondly it’s probably not what my arteries are feeling. Oh and in all honesty I never remember to add my meals.

Sleep: Wake Up
So this is probably the highlight of the UP. Switch it to sleep mode and the band records your sleep patterns and wakes you around about the right time during a light sleep phase.

This works. I set my ideal sleep to 8 hours per night, my alarm to 7.30 and let the Up do its work. It duly informed me of the percentage of the required sleep I was getting, showed me how light my sleep was in general, gave it a paltry score and woke me up during a light sleep at just after 7 a.m. every morning.

So it works. Or at least it wakes you up half an hour before your alarm so you think it works. 

Getting Social
I probably missed out on this aspect as I only have one other friend using it and his enthusiasm waned after approximately 2 days. You can set up challenges for groups of people and track progress which could act as a motivational tool, you can see who much action your mates are getting by studying their (slack of) sleep patterns.

You can share workouts, meals and sleep on your Up profile but not apparently to Twitter, Facebook or other Social Media.

So why are they refunding? 
In the words of Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman’s; “While many of you continue to enjoy the Up experience, we know that some of you have experienced issues with your Up band. Given our commitment to delivering the highest quality products, this is unacceptable and you have our deepest apologies.”… oh and you can have your money back if you return the band… or come to think of it, even if you don’t just don't say you expected it to actually do something.

I paraphrase (made up some of) the last bit of course.

I did not have any problems with battery life or synchronizing but it just creates an annoying feeling (did I mention that?). It doesn’t do what you would hope it would do, it doesn't really do anything and I feel kind of stupid for imagining it would.

It is a nice idea, it could even be the future but for now I think I will only use it as an alarm, assuming it continues to wake me up 30 minutes before the set time. At least until this gets annoying.