Skillz and Big Run Studios allege that AviaGames has copied its Bingo game.

Feds seek info on allegations AviaGames uses bots to scam humans in skill games

Skillz told a federal court on Monday that a federal grand jury was seeking access to information on AviaGames and its top executives in relation to Skillz’ allegations about defrauding players in skill-based games.

Skillz has alleged that AviaGames use of bots in its games — which are supposed to be matches between humans where real money prizes are at stake — constitute illegal gambling and fraud against consumers. The allegation has arisen in the course of a copyright and patent lawsuit between Skillz and AviaGames, which operates a rival to Skillz in skill-based games with real money prizes.

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Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.