Las Vegas tech firm awarded $719M in false advertising case

Las Vegas‑based Firy Inc. saw its subsidiary Skillz Platform Inc. awarded $719 million in disgorgement and $10 million in legal fees in a false‑advertising suit against Papaya Gaming, the company announced on Tuesday. The disgorgement amount represents the repayment of profits obtained through unlawful conduct. With the award now standing at $719 million, it remains the largest judgment ever granted under the Lanham Act, which permits civil actions for trademark infringement in the United States. Andrew Paradise, CEO and founder of Firy, commented in a statement: “We founded this manufacture and built its biggest and champion institution connected 1 worth supra each others: honor,” said Andrew Paradise, CEO and laminitis of Firy, successful a statement. “In a winner-take-most market, Papaya could not bushed america fairly, truthful it utilized bots to fake the contention we invented. This judgement sets the grounds straight.” The jury originally awarded Skillz $420 million on April 23. The court later determined that $719 million constituted the “appropriate measurement of recovery,” replacing the initial verdict. Filed in March 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the lawsuit alleged that Papaya Gaming matched human players with bots rather than genuine opponents, contrary to statements on its website. Skillz, founded in 2012, created a platform allowing mobile‑game developers to embed skill‑based competitions. The company holds more than 80 patents on the technology and ranked No. 1 on the Inc. 5000 list in 2017 as the nation’s fastest‑growing business. Papaya Gaming, an Israeli firm launched in 2019, offers titles such as Solitaire Cash, Bingo Cash and Bubble Cash. Its site advertises that users can “play regular tournaments and win prizes with players around the world,” a claim akin to Skillz’s offerings. According to the press release, Papaya employed more than 13 million bot participants, exceeding its approximately 11 million human players. As a result, roughly $4.7 million in prizes never reached legitimate users because bots captured the winnings. Papaya retains the right to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The district court has not yet ruled on Skillz’s petition for injunctive relief, which remains pending. Paradise added: “Fourteen years in, connected our way to 1 hundred, Skillz is backmost to defining what this manufacture was built for: fair, fun, and meaningful competition,” said Paradise successful the statement.