Who Is Monarch: The Real Story of the Owner of CSGOEmpire, Major Scandals, and Revenge Against Competitors
Introduction: A Fighter for Fairness or a Vindictive Businessman?
The online gambling industry is full of controversial figures, but Ossi Ketola, known by the nickname Monarch, stands out even among them. As the founder of CSGOEmpire, one of the largest skin gambling sites for CS, he spent years waging a public war against competitors. For some, he is a crusader cleansing the niche of scams. For others, he is a calculating businessman eliminating rivals out of personal revenge. And now that he has shifted toward traditional online gambling with his new project Duel, his story deserves special attention.
How It All Started: Deception in Runescape and a Knife in the Back
Gambling fascinated Ossi from his teenage years. At 13, he was already betting with in-game items in the Dual Arena zone in Runescape. Later, Monarch openly admitted that in his youth he was an "annoying little scammer." He promised players he would double their inventory in exchange for their items, and after receiving the valuables, he simply logged out of the game.
A key moment that shaped his business methods was meeting a man named Killian. Around 2014–2015, they launched BigBoiBets together, a poker site for Runescape. However, Ossi, by his own admission, was a "stupid kid" who did not understand how legal agreements worked. As a result, Killian pushed him out of the business, leaving him without money, while building an entire fortune from the project. This incident became the starting point of a long-term personal vendetta.
The Birth of CSGOEmpire and Million-Dollar Revenues
Despite the setbacks, in 2016 Monarch founded CSGOEmpire. He borrowed €11,000 to fund the development. The platform became one of the first licensed skin gambling sites with a Curaçao permit. The project introduced a peer-to-peer system (direct skin exchange between players), which later became the industry standard.
The project turned out to be incredibly successful: Ossi claimed it generated more than $100 million per year. After gaining significant capital and influence, Monarch decided to use these resources to fight competitors he considered dishonest.
Holy War Against Competitors
The irony of the situation is obvious: Monarch himself owns a major casino, yet he actively criticizes the industry for predatory practices. However, his crusade did bring real results. Over the years of his activity, Ossi managed to shut down four platforms: CSGODiamonds, SkinHub, CSGOWild, and HypeDrop.
Most of the closed projects were indeed involved in fraudulent activities.
The CSGODiamonds project provided streamers with advance information about upcoming game outcomes in order to create the illusion of wins on camera.
The CSGOWild site belonged to streamer PhantomL0rd, who secretly manipulated results against his own audience.
The founder of HypeDrop suddenly shut down the project and stole customer funds in March 2024.
Monarch's main target became the CSGORoll casino, owned by his long-time enemy Killian. In May 2023, Monarch published an open letter accusing the competitor's project of disguising itself as a "trading platform" and exploiting minors.
The Dark Side: Attempted Bribery and a Racist Scandal
Despite his image as a fighter for ethics, Monarch's own methods began raising questions. In 2024, he attempted to bribe the well-known investigative journalist Coffeezilla to release material discrediting CSGORoll. The journalist refused and instead created a three-part YouTube investigation series revealing the bribery attempt itself. The videos collectively gained 15 million views and showed that CSGOEmpire also uses questionable business practices, even while presenting itself as morally superior.
Another dark stain on his reputation occurred in June 2025. In response to a video on Twitter where far-right activist Paul Miller (GypsyCrusader) insulted CS community member Melan1n, the official CSGOEmpire account posted a racist insult ("Shut up n******"). It later turned out that this was a deliberate defence of their affiliate, as Miller was listed among CSGOEmpire's partners.
The Peak of Chaos: The Major Copenhagen 2024 Incident
The climax of the conflict between Monarch and Killian occurred on March 29, 2024, during the prestigious PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen tournament. During the quarterfinal match between the teams MOUZ and G2, spectators rushed onto the stage. One of them handcuffed himself to the barrier, and in the chaos the tournament's main trophy was accidentally smashed.
The match had to be stopped, which became an unprecedented case in the history of CS tournaments. It turned out that a few hours earlier Ossi had offered money during a Kick livestream to anyone willing to take part in a protest against G2's sponsor — CSGORoll. The esports community sharply condemned the incident, stating that the casino conflict had gone too far and started harming the entire industry.
Consequences: Valve's Anger and the Launch of the Crypto Casino Duel.com
The scandal at the Major forced Valve to respond. The developers introduced a 10-day trade lock (skins became invisible for 10 days after purchase) and demanded that third-party sites gain full access to users' Steam accounts. These measures significantly complicated the work of casino operators.
Monarch himself also faced consequences: his CSGOEmpire Cup tournament with a $50,000 prize pool was widely boycotted by teams. Despite releasing a video apology, Ossi became a toxic figure in the eyes of the community.
Realising that his reputation in the CS niche was damaged, at the end of 2024 Ossi announced he had lost his passion for CSGOEmpire. He launched a completely new project — the crypto casino Duel. Duel.com became his new flagship in the iGaming sector. After moving from skins to the traditional crypto gambling world, Monarch claims to have a large-scale mission — now he wants to clean up the entire online gambling industry. Considering his massive financial resources and uncompromising business methods, Duel.com has already attracted enormous attention.
Verdict
Monarch is a controversial figure who has divided the gambling community into two camps. His activities did indeed lead to the closure of several openly fraudulent sites, but the methods he used - from attempting to bribe journalists to organising chaos at Major tournaments — undermine his image as a moral authority. Now that Ossi has shifted his focus from roulette skins to his new project Duel.com, all that remains is to watch whether this casino will truly stand out for its honesty, or whether it is simply another stage in a marketing war.
Amanda Shimmer is the Chief Editor at CasinosInCanada and an experienced casino expert who ensures all guides, reviews, and industry investigations remain accurate, transparent, and helpful for players.
FAQ
It is one of the largest CS skin gambling sites founded in 2016. The platform features games using skins and a sportsbook function for betting on traditional sports and esports.
Monarch (real name Ossi Ketola) is a Finnish entrepreneur, the founder of CSGOEmpire and the owner of the new crypto casino Duel.com.
He positioned himself as a fighter for ethics who cleans the industry from scams. However, the facts indicate that his own business interests and personal revenge against his former partner Killian were always the priority.
During the match between MOUZ and G2, people ran onto the stage after being paid by Ossi Ketola to protest against the casino CSGORoll. As a result of the chaos, the tournament trophy was broken and the match had to be urgently stopped.
Duel (Duel.com) is a new crypto casino launched by Ossi Ketola at the end of 2024. Through this project he plans to extend his “crusade” to the entire online gambling industry.
The guy portrays himself as a holy crusader while using the same dirty schemes himself.
Glad that teams later boycotted his tournament.
Moving from CS roulettes to proper crypto was only a matter of time. Duel looks interesting right now, especially with their aggressive marketing about “honesty.” Let’s see how quickly Monarch starts fighting competitors in the crypto niche.