Skillz Platform’s lawsuit against Papaya Gaming has officially begun, several months after a federal judge ordered it to go forward. Yesterday was the first day of the trial, with both sides making opening statements. The trial is expected to go on for weeks, as Skillz is seeking $700 million in damages.
Skillz claims, as it has since filing the suit, that its business has been harmed by Papaya’s alleged misleading advertising. Papaya’s response is that it has always offered fair competition, and that Skillz’s troubles as a company do not stem from Papaya. Among other pieces of evidence they promise to show at the trial are ads, alleged documented uses of bots, messages and financial documents.
Lazar P. Raynal, speaking on behalf of Skillz’s legal team, said, “[Papaya] became, at one point, one of the most ferocious competitors and their growth was extraordinary and they targeted Skillz’ customers, they targeted Skillz’ market share, and they caused tremendous harm to Skillz’ business. They did this while deploying secret bots on their platform and not disclosing it to the public.”
Papaya refutes claims that it had anything to do with Skillz’s troubles, saying it will present evidence of the company’s decline from other causes. Devora Allon, speaking on behalf of Papaya’s legal team, said, “Now, Skillz is a failing company, that much is clear. But there is no way to look at this evidence and see any correlation with Papaya’s advertising or Papaya’s use of bots… Skillz is failing because players don’t like its product.”