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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
GGPoker is one of the world’s largest online poker platforms. It is part of GGNetwork (together with Natural8, PokerOK, ClubGG and other “skins”). The parent company is the Canadian NSUS Group Inc., whose ultimate beneficiary is South Korean citizen Kim Mansoo (Mansoo “Michael” Kim). In 2024 NSUS Group acquired the World Series of Poker (WSOP) brand from Caesars Entertainment for about 500 million dollars.
The platform positions itself as a global leader with licenses in a number of jurisdictions (United Kingdom, Malta, Canada/Ontario, etc.). At the same time, it has accumulated numerous public scandals — from accusations of systemic fraud at high stakes to Ukrainian criminal proceedings for illegal activity, tax evasion, and possible ties to Russian gambling.
The “superuser” scandal and the ban on third‑party software
In 2025–2026 a major scandal broke out involving the compromise of third‑party poker software (Jurojin, IntuitiveTables). Attackers substituted updates, installed a remote‑access agent (Mesh Agent), and gained the ability to see players’ screens and hole cards in real time. Dozens of high‑stakes players were affected; losses are estimated from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. One of the key accounts linked to the scheme is Paul Gregg (accounts on CoinPoker and the Winning Poker Network were also mentioned).
GGPoker reacted harshly: it completely banned third‑party software (including PokerTracker, Hold’em Manager, HUDs and other tools) and implemented additional protective measures (screen guard, anomaly detection for win‑rate, etc.). The company said it traced some funds to a crypto wallet and contacted Coinbase. Critics point out that the platform allowed such tools for years, and the response only became strict after public disclosure.
Bryn Kenney lawsuit: promised share, commissions, and “knew about cheating”
In October 2026, well‑known player Bryn Kenney (one of the leaders in tournament earnings) filed a lawsuit against NSUS Group and Kim Mansoo in a U.S. court (Nevada). According to the plaintiff, in 2018 he was promised regular commissions from recruited players/agents and a 5% stake in the business in exchange for promoting the platform. He claims he earned 5 million dollars in commissions in 2019, but later his system was “cut off,” and the stake was never delivered.
Separately, Kenney accuses Kim of knowing about systemic fraud issues on the platform, assuring him of secure protection, and then shifting responsibility. The complaint also includes an episode in which Kenney allegedly paid $1 million to players after the company failed to settle $6 million. The suit seeks compensation and punitive damages; the defense is moving to dismiss. These are allegations in a civil proceeding — not proven facts.
Other integrity incidents: bans for real‑time coaching (the Ren Lin / RealOA case on GGMillion$), ghosting (account substitution during a tournament), etc. The company publicly responds with bans and prize redistribution.
The Ukrainian trail: license as a cover, mirrors, crypto and Bryksin
GGPoker entered Ukraine through LLC “NSUS UA” (EDRPOU 43503124, since 2020, founder — NSUS Group Inc.). The company obtained an online poker license in August 2021. According to investigations (including BlackBox OSINT), the licensed site ggpoker.ua practically did not operate as a full platform, while actual play took place through mirrors (ua1.ggpoker.com, ua5.ggpoker.com, ua7.ggpoker.com, ggpoker.in.ua and others) and apps.
Separately, PokerOK (formerly GGPokerok) and ClubGG operated as platforms that, according to the investigation, were used for illegal real‑money games (including Telegram bots for deposits/withdrawals in crypto and cash). NSUS UA’s financials look disproportionate: with reported turnover, profit is minimal or there are losses (for example, in 2024 revenue was about 18 thousand UAH with profit of ~26 thousand UAH; later data also show modest results).
Open criminal proceedings (including No.72022000400000003 from 19.09.2022 and others from 2022–2023 years, as well as mentions of new SEB materials from 2025 regarding GGPoker/PokerOK). Articles include tax evasion (art. 212 of the Criminal Code), illegal gambling business (arts. 203–2), intellectual property violations and money laundering (art. 209). Among the defendants are former director Ihor Kalyahin, accountant Nataliya Hryvnak, current director Oleh Rachuk and Russian citizen Ivan Bryksin (Bryksin).
According to the materials, in 2022 a search was conducted at Bryksin’s place (he lived near Kyiv): equipment, documents and significant cash were seized (hundreds of thousands of dollars and euros). He is linked to the Russian‑language storefront of the network (PokerOK).
Polish TV channel TVP Info in October 2026 aired an investigation that described circumvention of blocks, recruiting Polish players and possible links to Russian gambling (including through Pin‑Up and affiliates). The materials state that Bryksin moved to Russia and runs part of the operations from there; Ukrainian authorities allegedly confiscated large sums (publications mention billions of hryvnias in the context of related schemes). There are also requests to the State Financial Monitoring Service and ARMA.
BlackBox OSINT additionally points to large crypto flows (tens of millions of dollars through Binance and other wallets in 2018–2022 years) which, according to the investigation, allowed hiding real turnover and extracting funds, including directions to Russia/occupied territories. After the cases were opened, activity reportedly did not stop — new domains and rebrandings were used.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Мережа GGPoker: кримінальні справи, російські зв’язки та звинувачення в приховуванні шахрайства". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: 368.media.
