GGPoker’s Dec. 1 third-party tool ban arrives with no regulated US poker approval in place

GGPoker's ban on all third-party poker software, HUDs included, takes effect Dec. 1 when an automated in-client warning system goes live. The tightening follows the superuser scandal, and it comes from an operator that holds no supplier or manufacturer approval in any regulated US poker market despite its owner controlling the WSOP brand.

• GGPoker's third-party tool ban starts on Dec. 1, when its automated in-client warning system goes live, according to PokerStrategy.com.
• Jurojin Poker said an attacker sometimes swapped the update package sent to one group of its users for a tampered version from June 2025 to January 2026.
• GGPoker got a manufacturer license in Pennsylvania in 2021 but later withdrew it, PokerFuse reported.
• From 2027, GGPoker will no longer run on older operating systems such as Windows 7 and macOS 11.

On Dec. 1, GGPoker switches on an automated in-client warning system, and every piece of third-party poker software, HUDs included, becomes off limits on its tables. The ban followed the superuser scandal that hit several poker sites, PokerNews reported in October. For players in the regulated US states, the policy belongs to an operator that holds no supplier or manufacturer approval in any regulated US poker market.

Until now, the company said, a limited set of outside programs with no bearing on how hands are played had been permitted on its client. After the recent incident, it said, it was tightening that policy to lower the risk of a repeat. The company paired the announcement with security advice: scan computers for threats regularly, use passkeys instead of passwords and keep operating systems updated.

Dec. 1 warning system puts HUD developers on notice

Enforcement starts with the Dec. 1 launch, according to PokerStrategy.com. Developers of third-party poker tools were told they must remove all GG network compatibility to get off GGPoker’s warning list. That puts the burden on tool makers as well as on the players running their products.

There is a carve-out. OS-level window managers such as PowerToys and Rectangle do not count as third-party tools, so multi-tablers can still use them to arrange tables. The line GG has drawn separates software that reads or reacts to the game from software that only moves windows around a screen.

The ban sits inside a broader hardening of the client. GGPoker’s new Screen Guard keeps its tables and lobby out of screenshots, recordings and remote-viewing apps, even if screen-sharing software is running on the device, PokerFuse reported. The operator is also adding win-rate anomaly detection that flags unusually high win rates, PokerStrategy.com reported. Taken together, the measures target two separate exposures: what can see a player’s table, and who is winning at a rate the system considers abnormal.

Jurojin hack ran through tool updates and fake poker-room sites

The threat is not theoretical for poker software. Jurojin Poker said on Oct. 1 that its investigation found an attacker sometimes swapped the update package sent to one particular group of its users for a tampered version, from June 2025 to January 2026. That is a span of eight months.

The same actor also went after other apps, including IntuitiveTables, and ran phishing sites that impersonated poker rooms and well-known poker tools, Jurojin said. The company described the attack as aimed at specific targets rather than a mass attack. Tampered software updates and look-alike websites were the two routes the attacker used in Jurojin’s account.

GG’s guidance to scan devices and move to passkeys addresses that same territory, the player’s own computer and login. Still, the operator and the tool maker are not aligned. Jurojin called GGPoker’s blanket ban on third-party tools heavy-handed, Poker.org reported. For regulars who built study and table routines around HUDs, the dispute is practical: the tools they relied on will trigger warnings on GG from Dec. 1 unless developers strip out GG compatibility.

WSOP owner NSUS has no GGPoker license in US poker states

The US angle runs through ownership. NSUS, which owns GGPoker, bought the WSOP brand in 2024, PokerFuse reported. GGPoker got a manufacturer license in Pennsylvania in 2021 but later withdrew it. It holds no supplier or manufacturer approval in any regulated US poker market.

PokerFuse also found no public sign that GGPoker plans to enter the US market or become the next software provider for WSOP Online. That leaves a clear split. The client hardening, the tool ban and the Screen Guard feature are measures for the GG network, which carries no supplier or manufacturer approval in any regulated US poker market.

That split matters for how US players read the news. The tool restrictions described by PokerStrategy.com apply to GG network compatibility. They do not, on the facts published so far, change the software rules at regulated US sites. Players who keep accounts on both sides face two sets of rules, not one.

Windows 7 and macOS 11 support ends in 2027

The longer timeline is also fixed. From 2027, GGPoker will no longer run on older operating systems such as Windows 7 and macOS 11, according to PokerStrategy.com. That change follows the same logic as the company’s advice to keep operating systems updated, and it will force some players onto newer machines or newer system versions.

The nearer date comes first. On Dec. 1, the in-client warning system goes live and the third-party tool ban takes effect.

Image: screenshot of jurojinpoker.com