Sweden Bans Duel.com Operator Immortal Snail LLC

Sweden’s Gambling Authority, Spelinspektionen, has imposed an immediate prohibition on Immortal Snail LLC, the company operating the offshore gambling platform Duel.com.

The operator has previously attracted criticism over its marketing approach, including provocative social media campaigns and advertising practices that have raised concerns within the regulated gambling sector. Duel.com runs through a .com domain under a licence granted by the Anjouan Gaming Authority.

Spelinspektionen said the latest enforcement measure was taken to protect consumers in Sweden.

Duel.com did not introduce Swedish market restrictions

The practical impact of the prohibition remains uncertain, as offshore operators may continue their activities despite regulatory orders and financial penalties.

In a court filing submitted by Spelinspektionen, Immortal Snail outlined its response to the regulator’s concerns. The company argued that Swedish is an international language and said Sweden should be blocked from accessing the website through IP restrictions.

The filing also recorded the operator’s position that it could not control whether customers chose to make payments in Swedish kronor (SEK). It further maintained that there was no need to remove Swedish from the platform’s available language options.

However, Spelinspektionen reported that the restrictions had not been put in place.

The authority stated:

The Swedish currency SEK and Swedish as a language still appear when logging in from a Swedish IP address. Furthermore, the authority has noted continued Swedish-language marketing of the company’s website duel.com.

The findings indicate that Swedish users could still access the platform with local language and currency settings, while promotional activity in Swedish continued.

Duel.com advertising draws further scrutiny

The regulatory action also comes amid criticism of Duel.com’s promotional campaigns. Previous advertisements reportedly included sexual content featuring actresses performing sexual acts while playing blackjack, as well as videos involving actors dressed as German soldiers from the Nazi era.

These campaigns have intensified concerns about how offshore gambling operators use social media and other online channels to reach audiences, including younger users.

The issue has attracted wider attention from gambling regulators and industry organisations, which have called for stronger action against illegal gambling advertising and greater responsibility from global technology companies in preventing such promotions from reaching consumers.