Ossi “Monarch” Ketola, 29, the controversial founder of crypto casino Duel.com, was detained by a police tactical unit in Helsinki, Finland, on Saturday after fleeing antifa counter-protesters who were demonstrating against a neo-fascist rally.
Ketola Apprehended By Police
Ketola, the Finnish gambling entrepreneur behind crypto casino Duel.com and skin-gambling platform CSGOEmpire, reportedly filmed alongside members of his entourage shouting fascist slogans as they fled anti-fascist counter-protesters in Helsinki on Saturday. According to local media reports, around 300 people attended the weekend rally organized by the neo-fascist Sinimusta Liike (Blue-Black Movement). Meanwhile, about 600 people took part in a counter-demonstration. Police were deployed to keep the two opposing groups separated.
In what is perhaps one of the more bizarre details from the incident, Ketola wore the mascot costume of “Freakbob,” a distorted SpongeBob-inspired character featured in Duel.com’s branding. Livestream footage appears to show Ketola running through a public park alongside his entourage as counter-protesters pursued them.
Ketola later claimed that his group had been attacked without provocation, although the footage from his livestream does not show how the initial confrontation began. After retreating to a vehicle, a visibly shaken Ketola launched into an angry tirade during the livestream, using highly offensive racial slurs to describe the counter-protesters who had pursued his group.
This Wasn’t Ketola’s First Controversy
The Helsinki incident follows a documented pattern of controversial and extreme statements by the casino founder. Ketola’s social media activity previously resulted in his suspension from X (formerly Twitter). The platform did not officially state why he was banned, but according to Ketola, this was part of an attack on his brands, as he claimed someone had paid “a significant amount of money” to get him banned.
More recently, a combat sports event sponsored by Duel.com and held on August 29 in Orlando, Florida, faced widespread criticism after organizers matched a fighter with neo-Nazi tattoos against a Jewish opponent. Meanwhile, a spectator was seen waving a swastika flag in the audience.
Days later, in a video posted on September 1 to the affiliate account DgenDuel, Ketola made explicit claims about race and genetics. He asserted that “blue-eyed people in general are going to be more moral, they’re going to have more empathy, and are more trustworthy.”
