Regarding Shay's question about sportsbook.ag ...
Pregame.com has ZERO financial dealings with ANY online sportsbook. Neither do I personally. Not a penny. That is UNIQUE among the major sites - meaning Pregame is the only major industry site that doesn't have to choose between offending an online SB advertiser and telling the truth. It's very important to me to remain independent - independent from online sportsbooks and independent from parent companies (with their own financial deals) dictating reporting.
Pregame uses online sportsbooks as sources of market info. Sometimes I use sportsbook.ag like that - at Pregame and on Twitter. Nothing more. No endorsement. No anything else.
Over the years, I've heard hundreds of complaints about this book or that book slow-paying. I have no special expertise in this area. My focus has been handicapping information - not online sportsbooks. That decision made long ago has cost Pregame literally millions of advertising dollars over the years - but it's allowed us to not only be independent, but it's also one of the reasons Pregame is the type of organization that big media companies like ESPN, Fox, NBC, and Associated Press are comfortable working with.
From my outsider's perspective into the online sportsbook world, slow paying is sometimes a site in financial trouble, sometimes a site looking to cut & run, and sometimes a site that wants to pay - but is having trouble doing so due to processor issues.
I've heard slow pay stories about sportsbook.ag, like many other sites. I do no investigative reporting into online sportsbooks. I have zero biz with them. My thought process is simple: would the audience be interested in this data. The exception to this would be if the book is fundamentally dishonest. Complaints are not a sign of fundamental dishonesty. Many legit businesses have some dissatisfied customers. And I have no special expertise to adjudicate such complaints. I feel comfortable using data from a sportsbook with some dissatisfied customers. I do not feel comfortable using data from (or supporting in any way) a sportsbook proven to be stealing from their customers.
With one of our own telling us about his personal troubles with sportsbook.ag – plus the general negative chatter about them which seems to be increasing … it feels like the proper time for me to try to help.
Shay - please start a thread with your UPDATED status of payment difficulties (with as many details as possible) … in addition, any other member of the community with sportsbook.ag problems should also share their details. Once the thread is ready, I’ll ask sportsbook.ag to provide an answer. And I’ll make my decision about continuing to use their data based upon the reasonableness of this reply.
Concerning the way Shay went about this – it was wrong and against the rules. Asking for help … or asking for me to explain my position on the matter would have been totally valid. Attacking me wasn’t. Pregame’s Golden Rule is showing respect. Even though I am totally open to those who disagree with me, it doesn’t mean I deserve to be disrespected. No poster does.
That said, I’m letting it go. Shay is a solid contributor – and when money is involved people get emotional. I’m showing my understanding of that reality. Shay, after seeing how I've reacted to your actions, I hope in the future you give me a chance to respond before making things unproductively disrespectful.