Terms of use

Last updated October 8, 2026

Draft for review. This text has not yet been reviewed by a lawyer and may change before launch.

These terms are the rules for using HappyGavel. By creating an account, bidding, or offering a date, you agree to them.

1. Who can use the site

You must be at least 18 years old. You must give your real name, city and date of birth, and you must upload photos of yourself. You may have only one account. Your date of birth cannot be changed after you set it.

2. What the site is

HappyGavel is a place where hosts offer a date and other members bid on it. Every winning bid supports a charity. A date is a social meeting, such as coffee, a meal, a walk or an event. It is never a sexual service, and nothing sexual may be offered, requested or implied.

3. How auctions work

• A host posts a date with 1 to 4 photos, a description, a starting bid and an end time. An admin reviews each date before it goes live.
• Each new bid must beat the current bid by at least $5 (under $100), $10 ($100 to $499) or $25 ($500 and over).
• A bid placed in the last minute extends the auction by one minute.
• When the auction ends, the highest bidder wins. A bid is a binding promise to pay and cannot be withdrawn.
• Hosts may not bid on their own dates.
• While bidding is open, a host may remove up to 3 bidders from a date they do not feel comfortable with. A removed bidder can no longer bid on that date, and their earlier bids no longer count.

4. How the money is split

Each winning bid is divided this way:

• 50% to the host (the date)
• 35% to the charity shown on the auction
• 15% to HappyGavel

Payment processing is being added. Until it is switched on, totals shown on the site reflect auction results only. Once payments are live, the giving total will count only payments that have been completed. Card or processing fees may be deducted before the split. Payments to hosts may count as taxable income, and hosts are responsible for their own taxes. We do not promise that any payment is tax deductible. Ask a tax adviser.

5. The date itself

The host and the winner arrange the date through the site's messages. Both agree to take part in good faith, to be respectful, and to follow the safety tips. A date is not a promise of any relationship. HappyGavel does not run background checks on members and does not attend or supervise dates. You meet at your own risk and you are responsible for your own decisions and safety.

6. Rules of conduct

You may not:

• post fake, stolen or misleading photos or information
• post nudity, sexual content, or anything illegal or hateful
• harass, threaten, pressure or scam anyone
• offer or ask for sexual services, or ask anyone to pay or act outside the site
• manipulate bids, including using a second account or having others bid to push prices up
• collect other members' information or use the site for advertising

7. Reports, blocks and removals

You can report or block any member from their profile. We may remove content, cancel auctions, suspend or close accounts, and refuse payouts if we believe these terms were broken or someone may be at risk. Where the law allows, a closed account does not receive a refund of fees or earnings tied to rule-breaking.

8. Cancelled dates and refunds

If a host cannot or will not hold a date, the winner will receive a full refund once payments are live, and the host may lose access to the site. If a winner does not show up or cancels, the bid is still owed. Where a date is cancelled by us for safety or rule reasons, we will refund the winner. Refund details will be confirmed before payments go live.

8a. Declining a winner

For 48 hours after an auction ends, the host may decline the winning bidder once, choosing a reason such as a safety concern, a profile that looks fake, or harassment. A winner who is declined is not charged, and the date is offered to the next highest bidder, who may accept or decline within 48 hours. If nobody accepts, the date does not go ahead and nobody is charged. Hosts may decline only a limited number of winners, and HappyGavel reviews these decisions. Hosts may not decline or remove a bidder because of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or any other protected characteristic. Hosts who misuse these controls may lose access to the site.

9. Your content

You keep ownership of your photos and text. You give HappyGavel permission to show them on the site so the service can work. You promise you have the right to post them and that they show you.

10. No guarantees and limits on our responsibility

The site is provided "as is". We do not promise it will always work, that members are who they say they are, or that you will enjoy a date. To the fullest extent the law allows, HappyGavel is not responsible for what happens between members, on or after a date, or for indirect or lost-profit damages. Nothing in these terms limits rights that cannot be limited by law.

11. Changes and contact

We may update these terms and will post the new date at the top. Using the site after a change means you accept it. Questions or complaints: support@your-domain-here.com.

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