Review Methodology
Every rating on AskTheBookie comes from a fixed set of factors, each with a definition and the evidence we look for. Sportsbooks, pay-per-head services and handicappers do different jobs, so each has its own model.
One model per section
A sportsbook takes your bets. A pay-per-head shop runs a bookie's players for him. A handicapper sells an opinion. Judging all three on one scale would be like grading a racehorse and a plough horse on the same course, so each section is scored against its own factors.
Within a section the rules don't bend. Every company is scored on the same factors, from the same kind of evidence, and the factors carry weights that are the same for every review in that section. We don't publish the weights on this page until they have been tested and settled. Each review lists the sources it rests on and the date it was last verified, and it shows ATB Tested: Yes/No and Operator Verified: Yes/No so you know how far the facts have been checked (the editorial independence policy says what each means).
Sportsbooks
A sportsbook rating weighs eight things. I've put them in the order I'd ask about them, not the order of any weight.
Reputation and history. How long the book has been taking bets, who has owned it, and what its record shows: complaints, how they were settled, and any history of slow pay or no pay. Evidence is the public record and the book's own published history, checked against each other.
Payouts. Whether winners get paid, how long it takes, and what can hold it up: ID checks, withdrawal limits, fees, payout caps on big tickets. Evidence is the book's published terms and documented payout records, with dates.
Betting product. The sports and markets offered, live betting, props, the limits, and the quality of the prices. A book that deals -110 on sides and one that deals -115 are not offering the same thing, and the review says which this one is.
Customer service. How you reach the book, when, and whether the answer solves anything. Evidence is the channels the book lists and the record of how disputes were handled.
Banking. The ways to deposit and withdraw, the minimums, the fees and the limits on each. Evidence is the cashier terms.
Bonuses. What the offers are worth once the rollover, the minimum odds and the time limits are counted. A big headline figure with a 20x rollover can be worth less than a small one with none, which is why we read the terms and not the banner (see what a 20x rollover is).
Technology. The site and the app: whether they work, how fast a bet is accepted, and whether they stay up when a busy Sunday is on.
Responsible gambling. Whether you can set deposit and loss limits, take a break or close the account, and whether the book makes that easy or hides it.
Pay per head
A per-head shop is scored on what an agent is paying for: the price per head and what it includes, the trial, the lines and who moves them, live betting, the prop builder, the live casino and racebook, the cashier tools, the call center, the agent reports, the mobile product, API access and white-label options. Evidence is the shop's published pricing and features and, where the review says ATB Tested: Yes, a documented test of the agent and player screens.
Handicappers
A handicapper is scored on the record, not the sales page: the sports covered, the pricing, the service's history, public records, the average odds taken, units won and lost, and whether the picks are documented with a time before the games start. Each review carries cautions where they apply. A short winning streak counts for very little, and an undocumented record counts for nothing; the standard for a checked record is under ATB Verified.
How we research
A review starts from what anyone can read: the company's own website, its terms and house rules, its banking and payout pages, and its published prices or records. Each line in a review's at-a-glance box names where it came from, and the review lists its sources with the date each was read. When the only source for a fact is the company itself, the review says so, because a company describing itself is a claim, not a finding.
We don't pay for information and we don't take it on trust. Nothing on a review says a product was tested unless the test is documented, which is why ATB Tested reads No until it is. When a site blocks our checks or hides a page behind a login, we record that and leave the fact unknown rather than work around it or guess. An unknown is better than a wrong number, and I'd rather show you the gap.
Ownership and business ties get the same treatment. Where a company shares a business network with AskTheBookie, its review says so and the conflict-of-interest policy applies.
Keeping it current
Ratings are re-checked and the date of the last check is shown on every review. Every review, with its rating, is due for a fresh check three months after the last one, and the guides every six months. A material change, such as a closed payment method, a new owner or slow payouts we can document, brings the check forward to the day we hear of it. When a fact changes, the review and the score change with it, under our corrections process.
I'd treat a rating the way I'd treat a line: the best number we have on the day it was checked. Look at the date before you look at the score, and never deposit more than you could lose at that book without it hurting.