Court orders Papaya Gaming to pay Skillz $719m in false advertising case

• The court denied Papaya's post-trial motions challenging the verdict.
• Skillz Platform Inc. was awarded approximately $10m in attorneys' fees.
• The lawsuit alleged Papaya used bots while advertising its games as fair, skill-based competitions.

FIRY Inc., formerly Skillz Inc., has secured a $719 million judgment against Papaya Gaming after a US court ordered the company to disgorge unjust profits in a false advertising case.

The ruling follows an April 2026 jury verdict that found Papaya liable for false advertising and unfair business practices under the Lanham Act. 

At the time, the jury awarded $420m in damages alongside an advisory disgorgement figure of $719m, with the court later deciding which remedy would apply.

The court has now entered the $719m disgorgement judgment in place of the earlier $420m damages award, while also denying Papaya's post-trial motions challenging the verdict.

Court ruling

The court also awarded approximately $10m in attorneys' fees covering 2024 and 2025, as well as certain litigation costs related to discovery. A separate opinion on the company's request for injunctive relief is still pending.

The lawsuit, originally filed in 2024, alleged that Papaya used bots to simulate human opponents while marketing its cash-based mobile games as fair, skill-based competitions. 

Evidence presented during the trial showed Papaya's bot participants outnumbered its human players between 2021 and 2024.

“We founded this industry and built its biggest and best company on one value above all others: honour,” said FIRY CEO and founder Andrew Paradise. “When growth stalled, investors decided our moat was a story. It was not. 

“In a winner-take-most market, Papaya could not beat us fairly, so it used bots to fake the competition we invented. This judgment sets the record straight. The moat was real. Fourteen years in, on our path to one hundred, Skillz is back to defining what this industry was built for: fair, fun, and meaningful competition.”

In a company statement, Papaya said it was disappointed with the outcome and is pursuing "all available options, including appeal.

"Papaya remains committed to continuing to lead and grow the mobile gaming industry with integrity and transparency, delivering exciting skill-based fair competition to our players," the company said.

FIRY said it intends to pursue full collection of the judgment, while noting the timing and amount of any recovery could be affected by an appeal or further legal proceedings.