The problems currently being discussed in this topic seem to be mostly related to sports betting. While I'm not a sports bettor myself, I still have some insight through friends. There were also some general statements about the site by @edondoko that I think should be addressed. I feel like those are more about some industry wide issues.
First, my experience with the site has been very positive, on par with other big brands. I have deposited over $100,000, played all kinds of casino games, and withdrawn roughly the same amount without any issues. Even higher ($10,000+) withdrawals were processed within 10 minutes. No KYC was requested.
First of all the casino is licensed in Anjouan, which is already a huge red flag. This license is basically useless and offers zero real player protection. If shit goes wrong, good luck getting your rights heard.
This is unfortunately very true, and it's also true for all offshore/native american (Curaçao, Philippines, Kahnawake, etc.) licensed casinos, as well as unlicensed ones. Basically it applies to all crypto casinos on the market. There is very little, if any, player protection, and if a casino does not want to pay, they can find ways not to. That is a risk every gambler takes when they choose to play at a crypto casino. This is not Duel-specific, and in my experience Duel can be trusted to pay out winnings just like most other big brands on this forum.
Secondly: no KYC at all.
People like to call this “crypto friendly” but in reality it’s just irresponsible. No AML, no age checks, no real responsible gambling rules, no proper self exclusion. Nothing. This is not something to be proud of tbh.
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You can literally register an account and send money instantly. No checks at all. I am from a country that is normally restricted worldwide and I should not even be allowed to access this website. They clearly log IP addresses, so either they don’t care or they do this shit on purpose.
I even tried to self exclude myself which is basically impossible. Since there is no KYC, there is no real way to enforce it. That alone should be enough to not take this casino serious.
For most people on this forum, no KYC is a positive thing. Not many want to share all their personal information with a random offshore company. Also, most casinos only require (if they require it at all) KYC when a player wants to cash out. I think KYC is in general less about legal AML requirements (if there are any) and more about delaying, or outright refusing, payouts.
Regarding responsible gambling tools: Duel absolutely lacks those. This is probably the most valid criticism that applies specifically to them.
They also advertise 0% house edge on house games which is simply not true. I tested Originals offline like Blackjack, Plinko and Dice.
Using perfect strategy in BJ and running extreme amounts of bets (up to 5 billion bets with same wager) with multiple runs, the RTP is clearly not 100%. Anyone with some technical knowledge can test this themselves, it’s not hard. You’ll maybe also find bugs like I did.
First, those "0% house edge" games are 0% HE only for the first $50,000 wagered per day, per player. The way it works is that these games are actually 99.9% RTP (0.1% HE), and for the first $50,000 wagered per day you get 100% rakeback, so you receive that 0.1% HE back. For the average player, a $50k/day cap is plenty, and they will effectively experience the 100% RTP. However, whales betting significantly more will be playing with a 0.1% HE. This is how it works for Dice, Plinko, Crash, Mines, and Keno. Regarding Blackjack, I have doubts about whether 0% HE is (or is even possible to be) achieved. You can read more about this by clicking the "Zero Edge" button in any of their original games.
Second, I raised an eyebrow when I read that you tested these games offline, as that would be impossible without the source code and the random generator. But I looked into it more and found that Duel actually shares the source code of all their original games. So, to my surprise, these offline tests are possible.
Your finding about Blackjack is probably correct. My hunch is the same: an exact 99.9% (not 100%) RTP is not achievable in practice for that game, and the true RTP must be lower. Maybe they compensate this with higher rakeback percentage, altough I am not sure.
Internationally this operation would be considered illegal in many places. They are copying what others did before and obviously it works out, for now. We know how this usually ends once authorities or banks start looking.
It is considered illegal in many places, just like every other crypto casinos. This is not Duel-specific, it applies to the industry as a whole. So far, it has worked for the (crypto) gambling industry, and no one really knows if or when that will change.
If you actually win big, I am pretty sure they will suddenly start asking for KYC and hide behind “regulations” or like he already answered with sportsbooks. Maybe it didn’t happen yet, but this is gonna happen soon.
My personal experience with them suggests otherwise. Again, as a casino player I had no problem withdrawing tens of thousands of USD, and no KYC was ever requested.
Sports betting is a whole different story. It involves everything from cheating (match-fixing), automation and bots, unfair sportsbook terms (e.g. regarding EV betting or arbitrage), to just being too lucky. Because of these, sports bettors will be regularly running into issues that casino players won't. Again, this is not Duel-specific, you will run into these issues in every sportsbetting platform.
Also, they don’t want to form any contracts for bug bounties. That means no legal safety, no guarantee you ever get paid. Personally I would never report a serious bug there after getting to know this. Selling it elsewhere would be “safer” to get paid rather than trusting an unregulated casino to pay honestly after months or maybe never.
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I mean cmon dude, why would anyone expect people to report a bug bounty the legitimate way when you take 3 or more months to pay out a bug which potentially could lead buyers into making millions in few seconds, while you pay out a merely 50k and that only after the bug finder goes public himself.
I fail to see how the fact that they do not offer bug bounty contracts means "no legal safety" or "no guarantee you ever get paid." We already discussed that with offshore-licensed online casinos there is "no legal safety" and "no guarantee you ever get paid." This has nothing to do with bug bunties.
Some companies pay bug bounties, others just say thank you when you report one, and some might even sue you. Whether it is worthwhile to search for bugs and report them is up to you.
Ossi is known for many things but anyone reading this should know better. There’s information literally everywhere plastered over X of him harassing people and even ordering hits n shit.
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This platform is basically a big ass “trust me, bro” and in no way I’m trusting a dude who has more public backlash in this industry than Trump in his or whoever you wanna name.
Monarch, the owner of the platform, has a very controversial public image, to put it mildly. I understand why someone would not play on Duel because of his personality. However, as we already discussed, every online crypto casino is ultimately a "trust me, bro" deal. Duel appears to be his pet project and he seems to care about it, I find it extremely unlikely that he would run off with player funds. So far, Duel has earned my trust and has not betrayed it. I believe casino players would face no issues there.
I know this might come off as shilling, however I truly think Duel is one of the best online casinos currently on the market, and it should not be singled out for issues that apply to the whole industry.
