In a legal blow to Silicon Valley-based AviaGames, the developer behind popular casino apps like Bingo Tour and Solitaire Clash, a class-action lawsuit has been filed accusing the company of deceiving users into playing against computer bots instead of genuine human opponents.
AviaGames Accused of False Marketing and Bot Manipulation
The lawsuit, filed on November 17 in the US Northern District of California by Andrew Pandolfi of Texas and Mandi Shawcroft of Idaho, claims that AviaGames falsely marketed its platform as a place for users to compete in games of skill against other human players, reported The New York Post. However, the suit alleges that the entire premise is a facade, asserting that AviaGames’ computers populate and control the games with computer bots, manipulating the outcomes.
AviaGames, a privately held company based in Mountain View, California, offers casino apps like Solitaire Clash, Bingo Clash, and Bingo Tour ranking among the top apps in the casino category on both Apple’s App Store and Android’s Google Play store.
The lawsuit argues that AviaGames’ offerings constitute an unapproved gambling enterprise, describing the games as “manipulated games of chance.” The stakes are high for AviaGames, given its popularity and the significant amount of money users collectively wager on its platform.
AviaGames Also Faces Prolonged Legal Battle against Skillz Games
This legal action comes on the heels of lawsuits filed in 2021 by Avia’s rival, Skillz Games, for patent and copyright infringement against AviaGames. These earlier lawsuits uncovered alleged bot use and are still in progress through the court system.
Skillz Games, in its patent case against AviaGames, asserted that the use of bots allowed AviaGames to match up players quickly, gaining a competitive edge over Skillz, where customers sometimes had to wait up to 15 minutes for an opposing human player.
AviaGames has consistently denied the allegations. In response to inquiries about the class-action suit, an AviaGames spokeswoman issued a statement asserting the claims are baseless. The company stands behind its intellectual property, gaming technology, and the integrity of its executive team.
The legal battle between AviaGames and Skillz is set to continue, with an upcoming trial date of February 2, 2024. As the controversy unfolds, some players express longstanding suspicions about the fairness of AviaGames’ platform, with reports of rigged games.
AviaGames and Skillz offer distinctive variations to traditional games such as bingo, solitaire, blackjack, and Tetris, infusing elements of skill to ensure compliance with legal standards. Nevertheless, in nine states—Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Louisiana, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Vermont—laws prohibit skill gaming apps from accepting monetary deposits from players.