Solitaire App Pushed by ESPN Stars Faces Suit Over Bots, ‘Rigged’ Games

The company Stephen A. Smith just signed on with to promote its solitaire game is fighting a federal lawsuit accusing it of falsely marketing “games of skill” that were actually rigged with unbeatable bots.

On Monday, Papaya Gaming named Smith the company’s official ambassador for the first ever World Solitaire Championship in February. The partnership comes five months after Smith went viral after he was spotted playing solitaire on his phone at Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

Smith also posted an AI-generated ad on social media Monday promoting Papaya’s mobile game Solitaire Cash.

Smith was the only ambassador named in the announcement, but ESPN talents Dan Orlovsky, Mina Kimes, Laura Rutledge, Ros Gold-Onwude, and Kendrick Perkins all posted on X promoting the app through a challenge with Smith called #BeatStephen. World champion boxer Terence Crawford also promoted the app through the challenge. (Captions for all their posts began with #ad to indicate the promotion.)

ESPN did not immediately comment Thursday.

The much-publicized partnership with Smith was unveiled a few days after Papaya Gaming Ltd. suffered a significant setback in a lawsuit it has been fighting against competitor Skillz Platform Inc. A federal judge in New York rejected Papaya’s request for summary judgment in a case that was filed last March, meaning the case will continue. Both companies offer mobile games including solitaire.

The lawsuit alleges that Papaya committed fraud through false advertising and violated New York’s general business law by promoting its mobile games as “totally fair and skill-based” when they are instead “rigged.” According to the complaint, between 2019 and “at least November 2023,” Papaya used bots “masquerading as human players” in games where human players had money on the line, unfairly making it impossible for users to succeed. 

“It is undisputed that Papaya used tailored bots to control the outcomes of tournaments,” the judge wrote in an Oct. 27 opinion. “By doing so, Papaya could prevent players from winning –- or allow them to win — no matter how they performed in the game.”

Not only is the practice unfair to users, it has harmed Skillz’s business by enabling Papaya to gain significant market share through deceptive and misleading tactics, Skillz claims.

One of Skillz’s expert witnesses, an economist and financial analyst named Jim Bergman, said that the company suffered damages of more than $637 million through Papaya’s unlawful actions, according to the opinion. The judge denied Papaya’s request to exclude Bergman’s report and testimony.

Andrew Paradise, cofounder and CEO of Skillz, referenced the litigation in Thursday’s earning’s call, saying the court’s “confirmation” that its claims against Papaya should proceed “is a major step forward in our fair play initiative.”

Papaya has filed counterclaims in the lawsuit, which the judge has not yet ruled on. According to Papaya, Skillz also uses bots, despite presenting itself as the only trustworthy player in the industry. Papaya argues that this lawsuit—as well as similar suit Skillz filed against another competitor called Voodoo—is part of a litigation strategy for a company that “is in the midst of a financial downturn that has lasted for three years.”

Attorneys for both companies declined to comment Thursday.

“Papaya looks forward to vigorously proving in trial that Skillz’ misleading accusations against the company are false and unjustified,” the company said in a statement to Front Office Sports and other outlets. “Papaya will continue to lead the industry with innovation while remaining focused on our mission to empower players with skill-based and fair competition.”