Managing Editor
The ever-controversial Ossi ‘Monarch’ Ketola has had his X account suspended, along with those for his two gambling businesses, CSGOEmpire and Duel.
Monarch announced the bans this morning on his Discord server, framing them as an “attack” on himself and Duel and implying that rivals in the gambling space are to blame. He has asked his followers — who he occasionally describes as a “cult” — to carry on messaging for Duel on his behalf.
Ketola is a Finnish entrepreneur, best known in the poker world for challenging some of the game’s best players, like Alex Foxen and Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates. He has come out behind in each of these heads-up series, but reaped returns in terms of publicity. He has received negative attention in equal measure, due to his unrepentant and persistent use of racial slurs.
Perhaps not coincidentally, his interest in high-profile poker matches came around the rollout of Duel, his new endeavor. Whereas CSGOEmpire was a “skin betting” site targeting the niche esports audience, Duel is a more traditional online casino. However, Ketola hopes to be disruptive in the sector by including games with a tiny or zero house edge.
He claims the banning of his accounts coincides with the rollout of those games:
We are under attack. My Twitter account along with Empire’s and Duel’s have been banned on Twitter. This came right after we released 100% RTP games on Duel, undercutting the entire gambling industry. We are a threat to their profits.
[…] Make no mistake, we are at war. Do your part. Sound the alarm. They can take me down but they can’t take down the mission. Traditional crypto casinos WILL lose BILLIONS of dollars due to Duel, I promise you that much.
Polymarket Crowd Celebrates
It’s not clear why Monarch’s accounts were banned. Under Elon Musk’s ownership, X’s policies on hate speech are considerably more lenient than Twitter’s were before the acquisition. However, there are still some limits.
Whether or not the accounts were in fact flagged by rivals, some of Ketola’s detractors are celebrating as if it was a targeted action.
For instance, one Polymarket user suggested that it was the result of Duel’s sponsorship of Lord Miles, a British YouTuber whose “water fast challenge” in the Saudi Arabian desert drew $14 million in market speculation and ended in controversy.
