Sweden Bans Duel.com Over Alleged Unlicensed Gambling Operations

Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s Gambling Authority, has imposed an immediate ban on Immortal Snail LLC, the company behind the notorious offshore gambling operator Duel.com, claiming it illegally targets the Swedish market. Sweden Bans Duel.com Spelinspektionen stated that the ban was imposed to protect consumers, as the regulator believes Duel.com continues to target Swedish players despite not holding the required local gambling license. The regulator says Immortal Snail has refused to remove Swedish-language content from its platform. The regulator conducted an undercover test purchase, which was ultimately unsuccessful. However, its investigation found that Swedish was available as a website language, and Swedish kronor (SEK) could be selected as a payment currency. The decision also noted that the investigation uncovered no evidence that Swedish users were blocked from registering accounts. While the operator referred to plans to implement IP blocking to prevent access from Sweden, the regulator found no evidence of additional safeguards that would stop Swedish users from accessing the platform through alternative methods. Its investigation further concluded that even the limited measures outlined by the company had not been fully implemented. Regulators commonly view such content as an indication that a gambling operator is directing its services toward consumers in a specific market, in this case, Sweden. Spelinspektionen also questioned the effectiveness of the company’s proposed measures to restrict access from the country. It’s not the only time in recent months that Duel.com has been involved in some controversies. For example, about a month ago, the social media platform X accused Duel.com founder Ossi Ketola of bribing employees and manipulating account suspensions Could the Regulator Enforce the Ban? While Spelinspektionen banned Duel.com, the question still remains of whether the regulator could enforce this. Duel.com is registered at an address in Charlestown, Nevis, part of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The company also claims to operate under an Anjouan gambling license (No. ALSI-202411026-FI1), issued in the Union of the Comoros. According to Spelinspektionen’s filing, Immortal Snail LLC argued that Swedish is an international language and maintained that Sweden should be subject to IP blocking. The company also claimed that it had no control over whether payments were made in SEK and argued that it should not be required to remove Swedish as a language option from its website. However, it should be noted that according to a check made at the time of writing of this article, Duel.com does not offer a Swedish language option. In other news from Sweden, Spelinspektionen hit Bet365 with a hefty fine of SEK 44 million (about $4.5 million) for failing to comply with country-mandated licensing rules.