Every courtroom on the board is a real American criminal case where the courtroom work is done and the decision is reserved — a jury out, a judge deliberating, an appeal argued, a sentencing scheduled. You bet play-money Gavels on which way the court will actually rule.
Play money only. Gavels have no cash value and cannot be bought, sold, or redeemed. This is a prediction game for bragging rights, not gambling — and nothing here is legal advice.
2.Take the bench
Pick a handle (3–20 letters, numbers, spaces or underscores). No email, no password — your judge credentials are created instantly and stored in your browser.
Every new judge is seated with a 1,000-Gavel bankroll.
Because your credentials live in your browser, clearing site data or switching devices means a fresh robe. Guard your bench.
3.The courtrooms
Each courtroom asks one question — "Will the court do X?" — with two sides:
GUILTY side — the prosecution-favoring outcome (conviction stands, motion denied, sentence imposed…).
NOT side — the defence-favoring outcome (relief granted, new trial, reversal, the lighter sentence…).
Read each card carefully: the two outcome labels are written per case and say exactly what each side means for that case.
4.Odds & stakes
Odds come from the betting pool itself. The bigger your side's share of the pool, the shorter your price:
decimal odds = 95.5% ÷ (your side's share of the total pool) — minimum 1.01
The house keeps a fixed 4.5% vig; the rest of the pool sets the line.
Your odds lock at the moment you bet. Later bets move the line for later bettors, not for you.
Stakes run from 10 to 1,000 Gavels per bet. You can bet multiple cases, or the same case more than once.
5.Locks — when the gavel is about to fall
Betting closes automatically when a ruling is imminent: once a case's expected decision date arrives, or the court signals it's about to rule, the case flips to LOCKED and no further bets are taken. Your existing wagers ride.
6.Settlement — only on the real ruling
Cases settle when the actual court actually rules, and only once the outcome is confirmed by multiple independent news organizations. Anything ambiguous goes to human review before a single Gavel moves.
Result
What happens to your bet
Your side wins
Paid stake × your locked odds, credited to your bankroll
Your side loses
Stake stays in the pool. Court adjourned.
VOID
If the real outcome fits neither side — the case settles, is dismissed on other grounds, or otherwise ends sideways — the case is voided and every stake is refunded in full.
7.Legal aid
Busted bankroll? If you're holding fewer than 250 Gavels you can claim Legal Aid (+250) once every 24 hours. Everyone deserves representation.
8.Leaderboard & house accounts
The leaderboard ranks judges by bankroll and record. Win big, sit high.
Some avatars are house accounts, always marked with a House badge. They keep the room lively, follow the market rather than steer it, and are capped on the leaderboard so they can't crowd out real judges. Headline stats count real judges only.
9.Fair-play notes
The docket is checked daily against news coverage; expected decision dates, postures and exhibit links are updated as the real cases move.
Every case card links public exhibits where they exist — courtroom video, oral-argument audio, public dockets — so you can handicap from the record, not the vibes. Browse them all in the Case Library.
A wrong settlement is worse than a slow one. If a ruling is single-sourced or partial, the case locks and waits for confirmation.