Who Owns Duel Casino?

Ossi "Monarch" Ketola: The Founder

Ossi Ketola, known in the gambling community as "Monarch," is the sole founder and owner of Duel Casino. His journey into online gambling began over a decade ago when he built CSGOEmpire, which became the largest CS:GO skin gambling site, generating over $100 million per year in revenue.

What makes Monarch unique in the casino space is his willingness to operate transparently. He regularly engages with the community on social media (X @Monarch), appears in promotional content, and openly discusses both the technical and philosophical aspects of running a crypto casino.

His motivation for creating Duel wasn't purely financial - by his own admission, leaving CSGOEmpire to focus on Duel was "financially insane." He had a proven, profitable business generating substantial revenue. Instead, Duel represents a mission-driven project: to build the fairest casino possible and wage war against predatory practices in the gambling industry.

The CSGOEmpire Legacy

Before Duel, Monarch spent nine years building and operating CSGOEmpire, which became the most trusted name in CS:GO skin gambling. The platform handled billions of dollars in virtual items, serving as a proving ground for Monarch's approach to fair gambling and transparent operations.

CSGOEmpire's success wasn't accidental. In an industry plagued by scams, rigged outcomes, and sudden disappearances, Monarch built a reputation for legitimacy. Players trusted Empire because it consistently delivered fair outcomes, honored withdrawals, and operated without the deceptive practices common among competitors.

This experience taught Monarch two critical lessons: first, that it's possible to run a profitable gambling platform without exploiting users; and second, that the broader crypto casino industry desperately needed someone willing to fight for fairness at scale. Duel is the result of applying nine years of lessons learned to building something even more ambitious.

Why Monarch Built Duel

Monarch didn't build Duel to make a quick profit. In his own words, published in the Monarch Manifesto: "I built Duel out of hate, despise, and revenge towards the bad actors in this industry. And simultaneously, out of love and care for the gamblers who deserve better than what they're getting."

He'd watched the crypto casino industry devolve into a cesspool of fake bets, manipulated outcomes, predatory bonus structures, and influencer marketing built on deception. Top casinos hired actors to pretend to gamble with fake money, creating manufactured excitement to lure real players into unfavorable odds.

Duel is Monarch's "declaration of war" against this corruption. It's not just a business - it's a protest against everything wrong in gambling. The platform deliberately operates with near-zero or zero house edge on original games, sacrificing potential profits to prove that fair gambling is possible and sustainable.

This philosophical approach distinguishes Duel from virtually every competitor. While other casinos optimize for maximum extraction, Duel optimizes for fairness, transparency, and long-term player trust. It's a fundamentally different business model driven by ideology as much as economics.

The Duel Team Structure

While Monarch owns Duel, he doesn't operate it alone. In the Monarch Manifesto, he mentions working with "a team of approximately 100 people" handling everything from software development to customer support, marketing, and operations.

This team structure allows Duel to operate at scale while maintaining the quality and fairness that Monarch demands. Unlike anonymous casino operations run by shadowy corporations, Duel's team includes identifiable professionals working under Monarch's direct leadership.

Customer support operates 24/7, ensuring players can get help regardless of timezone. The development team continuously builds new games, improves the platform, and implements the technical innovations required to offer 100% RTP gaming at scale - something no casino has achieved before.

The marketing approach differs dramatically from competitors. While most casinos pay influencers to fake-gamble with sponsored balance, Duel focuses on authentic partnerships with people who align with the platform's values. Monarch personally vets these relationships to ensure they don't compromise Duel's integrity.

Corporate Structure and Licensing

Duel operates as a licensed crypto casino under the jurisdiction of Anjouan, which provides regulatory oversight while allowing the operational flexibility needed for crypto-native features like instant withdrawals and minimal KYC requirements.

The corporate structure behind Duel prioritizes operational security and player protection. Player funds are segregated from operational funds, and the platform maintains substantial reserves to handle any variance that comes from offering zero-edge games.

Unlike many crypto casinos that operate through complex corporate structures designed to obscure ownership, Duel's structure is relatively straightforward: Monarch owns and controls the operation, with clear chains of responsibility and decision-making authority.

This transparency extends to financials. While Monarch doesn't publish detailed revenue figures publicly, he's openly discussed that Duel may not be maximally profitable compared to traditional casino models - and that's intentional. The platform prioritizes fairness over profit extraction, trusting that long-term success will come from player loyalty rather than short-term exploitation.

Monarch's Other Ventures: High-Stakes Poker

Beyond running Duel and CSGOEmpire, Monarch has become known in the poker world for participating in some of the highest-stakes heads-up matches in history. He's played against elite professionals like Dan "Jungleman" Cates, Wiktor "Limitless" Malinowski, Alex Foxen, and Bjorn Li.

These poker matches aren't separate from Duel - they're part of the same philosophy. Monarch plays with 100% his own money, never staked, and uses these high-profile matches to promote Duel's zero-edge philosophy. When he wins or loses millions on livestream, it generates publicity while demonstrating his commitment to authentic gambling.

His most famous hand came at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Jeju, where he won a $12.7 million pot against Bjorn Li - one of the largest pots ever livestreamed. While he admits he doesn't have a skill edge over professional players, he negotiates favorable odds and uses the platform to spread Duel's message to poker's elite audience.

This approach exemplifies Monarch's entire strategy: radical transparency, authentic risk-taking, and using personal reputation to build trust. He's not hiding behind corporate anonymity - he's putting his face, name, and money on the line to prove Duel's legitimacy.

The "Castle Cult" and Community

Beyond the corporate structure, Monarch has cultivated what he calls "the cult" or "the castle community" around Duel. This isn't a traditional casino loyalty program - it's a movement of people who believe in fair gambling and want to resist predatory industry practices.

The cult concept began two years before Duel's launch, with Monarch gathering like-minded individuals who shared his vision for disrupting the gambling industry. The community site jointhecastle.com serves as a gathering place for this movement, though Monarch admits "we don't even know how to explain it properly."

This community-driven approach creates genuine loyalty that traditional casino marketing can't replicate. Members aren't just customers - they're participants in a mission to change gambling. This aligns perfectly with Monarch's transparent ownership style: he's not trying to hide who runs Duel or what it stands for.

While the cult aspect has been somewhat dormant recently (Monarch has been focused on establishing Duel's foundation), he's promised to "go full-on with waking up the cult and waging war against the worst shady operators" once the platform is firmly established. This suggests future activism, exposés, and direct confrontation with competitors.

How Monarch Makes Money with Zero House Edge

The obvious question: how does Monarch keep Duel profitable when operating games with zero house edge? The answer reveals his sophisticated understanding of casino economics.

First, not all games operate at zero edge. Third-party slots from providers like Pragmatic Play and Hacksaw Gaming have standard house edges (2-4%), though Duel returns 50% of that edge as instant rakeback - still better than most competitors. These slots generate revenue while offering players better value than alternatives.

Second, even zero-edge games generate some revenue from suboptimal play. Duel Blackjack operates at zero edge with perfect strategy, but most players don't play perfectly. The small edge from strategic mistakes creates modest revenue without exploiting players through built-in mathematical disadvantages.

Third, Monarch operates multiple businesses. CSGOEmpire continues generating substantial revenue, providing financial backing for Duel's experimental business model. This allows Duel to sacrifice short-term profits while building long-term market position.

Finally, Monarch believes that extreme fairness will eventually create a more sustainable business than extraction-based models. Players who never feel cheated become lifetime customers, referring friends and building organic growth. This long-term thinking distinguishes owner-operated businesses from investor-driven competitors optimizing quarterly returns.

Challenges and Controversies

Running a transparent, owner-operated casino comes with unique challenges. Monarch has attached his personal reputation to every aspect of Duel, meaning any scandal or security breach directly affects him - unlike anonymous operators who can simply abandon projects and start over.

The zero-edge model creates technical challenges no other casino has faced. Operating 100% RTP games requires sophisticated risk management to prevent bankruptcy from variance. Even with Monarch's nine-figure bankroll, offering unlimited zero-edge betting could theoretically drain any reserve. This is why 100% RTP games come with limits.

Monarch's partnership with controversial influencer Andrew Tate has drawn criticism. While it brings significant visibility and user acquisition, it also creates PR risks. Tate's polarizing reputation means some potential users may avoid Duel specifically because of this association, though others are attracted by it.

The "war against bad actors" rhetoric, while authentic to Monarch's personality, creates potential legal and competitive risks. Directly calling out competitors or exposing fraudulent practices could lead to retaliation, lawsuits, or coordinated attacks. Operating transparently means Monarch can't hide if competitors decide to target him.

The Future Vision

Monarch has publicly outlined an ambitious roadmap for Duel that extends far beyond typical casino operations. Upcoming projects include provably fair Rock-Paper-Scissors with zero house edge, custom Duel-branded slots with the lowest house edge in the industry, and even a zero-edge PvP sportsbook.

The most ambitious project: "The Castle Live Games." Monarch is literally building a physical castle that will serve as a live game studio for roulette and blackjack, with what he describes as "midgets, adult entertainers, and pure psychosis." This characteristically bold approach aims to create unprecedented entertainment value in live casino gaming.

These projects reflect Monarch's ownership advantage: he can pursue long-term, risky innovations without answering to investors demanding immediate returns. He's spending his own money to build something unprecedented rather than optimizing an existing formula for maximum extraction.

Long-term, Monarch envisions Duel becoming "massive" - not just another crypto casino but a legitimate challenger to industry leaders like Stake and Rollbit. He believes fair gambling will eventually win market share from predatory operators as players become more educated about house edge, net edge, and mathematical expectations.