Looking to get paid for your hard-earned A in “Western Civ” but mom and dad won’t pay out? Then say hello to new-to-the-block student website Ultrinsic, which is more than happy to send you cash. Or, more precisely, they’ll make a bet with you that you won’t get that A, but if you do you win. Money. Yep, while still in beta form, Ultrinsic is offering participating students at 36 US colleges the chance to bet on their GPA. You can even purchase “grade insurance” if you think you might fail a class so that if you do, you get paid — though the payout would still be less than the cost of the class, so no gaming the system now. While this may sound an awful lot like online gambling (which is illegal), apparently it isn’t since participants have full control of the outcomes — theoretically at least. In fact, the site’s CEO Steven Wolf even argues that all it really is is a helpful (financial) incentive toward success. Do we believe him?

Here’s how it works. If you go to a participating college, you can then sign up, at which point you’ll need to send Ultrinsic the necessary information — your college, what classes you’re taking, your previous grades, etc. — and they then take that information, plug it into their Grade-O-Matic algorhythm and (presto-chango): they give you your odds. Which means, if you’re already a straight-A student, you’re probably not going to make all that much. (I’m sure you’ll do just fine post-college though.) Though, for the super-smart, they do offer one opportunity to make the big bucks in the form of the ultimate collegiate Hail Mary: if you’re an incoming freshman you can bet $20 that you’ll make it to the end of your four-year education with a perfect, 4.0 GPA. And if you do, you’ll receive $2000. Cha-ching! (Because, of course, getting a 4.0 GPA is sooo easy.)

While Wolf believes he, and his website, are in the clear legally, some are still a bit squeamish at the idea. Then again, is it really all that different than how student grants and scholarships are setup? That is, you get the money if you get good grades, but otherwise, best of luck to ya? I don’t know, what do you think? Would you bet on your grades?

Currently, the starting bid starts at $25.