Controversial Duel.com Founder Ossi Ketola Detained Following Confrontation in SpongeBob Costume

Ossi Ketola, the controversial founder of crypto casino Duel.com, was detained by a police tactical unit in Helsinki on Saturday after fleeing counter-protesters while dressed as SpongeBob SquarePants.

Ossi “Monarch” Ketola, 29, and members of his entourage were reportedly captured on video shouting fascist slogans as they fled anti-fascist counter-protesters in Helsinki on Saturday, shortly before their vehicle was intercepted by Finnish police tactical units.

Around 300 people attended the weekend rally organized by the neo-fascist Sinimusta Liike (Blue-Black Movement), while a counter-demonstration drew approximately 600 people, according to local media reports. Police units were deployed to keep the opposing groups separated.

Ketola, the Finnish gambling entrepreneur behind crypto casino Duel.com and skin-gambling platform CSGOEmpire, arrived at the rally with a private security detail while livestreaming the event on Kick.

In a subsequent interview with Finnish gaming outlet NettiPokeri, Ketola said he attended out of curiosity regarding the Blue-Black Movement, noting that some of its political views aligned with his own.

Mascot Confrontation

During the event, Ketola donned the mascot costume for “Freakbob”—a distorted, SpongeBob-inspired character used in Duel.com branding—and approached the counter-demonstration alongside his group.

Livestream footage shows the costumed Ketola running across a public park flanked by his entourage while being pursued by counter-protesters. While Ketola later claimed his group was attacked without provocation, his livestream footage does not capture how the initial altercation began.

After retreating to a vehicle, a visibly shaken Ketola launched into an angry tirade on stream, using severe racial slurs to describe the counter-protesters pursuing his group.

A second video filmed shortly after shows police tactical officers surrounding the vehicle and ordering Ketola and his associates out with their hands raised. Ketola later clarified that officers detained them in a police car for approximately two hours before releasing them without charge.

Following his release, Ketola publicly vowed to bring “300 guards” to his next public demonstration.

History of Extremist Content

The Helsinki incident follows a documented pattern of controversial and extreme messaging by the casino founder. Ketola’s social media activity previously led to his suspension from X (formerly Twitter) in October 2025 following repeated use of racial slurs.

More recently, a Duel.com-sponsored combat sports event held Aug. 29 in Orlando, Fla., drew widespread condemnation after organizers matched a fighter bearing neo-Nazi tattoos against a Jewish opponent, while spectators waved a swastika flag in the audience.

Days later, in a video posted Sept. 1 to the affiliate account DgenDuel, Ketola made explicit racial comments regarding genetics, claiming that “blue-eyed people in general are going to be more moral, they’re going to have more empathy, and are more trustworthy.”

With payment processors and mainstream affiliates increasingly distancing themselves from extremist content, Ketola’s escalating public stunts threaten to push both Duel.com and CSGOEmpire further to the margins of the online gambling industry.