One reputable type of sports information service is the “consensus” service.  Consensus services gather and release the plays from many other services. Consumers lean towards consensus services for a variety of reasons. The high prices that major sports services charge is a major reason people join consensus outlets. It is common for individual sports services to charge as much as $3000 per season for their picks and as much as $200 more for special releases. A consensus service typically charges a modest fee for a season that gives the bettor access to all the plays (including special releases) from dozens of services across the nation. The average fee that a major established consensus service charges is about $1000 per season. The consumer is best served to avoid the new breed of internet only consensus services that have arrived over the last few years. Nearly every single one of these new consensus services are part-timers and lack the knowledge and history that the original consensus services provide.

An educated consumer can join a consensus service and enjoy all the plays from every major sports service 
for a price much smaller than joining a single major sports information service. Some individual sports services would like you to believe that many consensus services fabricate releases. The truth is, consensus services are among the most trustworthy in the sports service industry. Individual services use misinformation tactics attempting to lead you away from the information rich consensus services and back to them. This tactic is the only line of defense left to the lone service.

Consensus services are the modern sports information super highway to the finest and most reliable
handicapping services and the most proven way to succeed. Those bettors who choose a consensus service 
enjoy all the selections from the most renowned handicappers just as if they subscribed directly to that service. Consensus service customers enjoy a virtual roundtable of the finest selections from the best services every 
day. Eighty minds are better than one.

There are many times when one major service gives out a strong opinion on one team while another service 
touts the other side. Consensus customers have the luxury of balancing the merits of the dissenting opinions 
and have the option of moving on to another game without getting involved in a matchup that services disagree on.

Another little known truth about the professional handicapping industry is that some services excel in college handicapping while others succeed in professional sports. A quick glance at the past performance of any major service proves that few handicappers ever win in both categories. Consensus customers enjoy the best of both worlds. During the football season, members of a consensus service focus on the proven college handicappers 
on Saturday and then turn to the finest performers in NFL Football on Sundays. This truly is the reason to join 
a consensus service and is certainly the only way to use one.

Most major consensus services provide their members with a weekly “report card” that reveals the actual pointspread records of the services they monitor. Although individual services tend to exaggerate their success rate, consensus services are objective and have no incentive to inflate results. Consensus customers take advantage of the hot services that put up winning streaks season after season. Past performances are a great indicator of future winning prospects. Since consensus services are not affiliated with the services they monitor, they have achieved the reputation of being among the most trustworthy of the handicapping industry. There is 
no need for hype or  misleading claims from a consensus service since they are simply reporting on what other services release.

Consensus services come in all shapes and sizes. Some are open all year for football, basketball and baseball while others shutdown after the football or basketball season. Some use live representatives to relay 
information while others employ a state-of-the-art voice mail system that ensures a more timely and accurate report to their members. Some consensus services are less thorough than others while giving out only the 
higher rated selections rather than all the plays from the handicappers they monitor. 

The most professional services are those who have a full time team that can answer questions for their 
members and provide informed information on the best way to succeed when using the product. The premier consensus services can also give you multi-year past performance records of the services they monitor.

For the bettor, when they choose a sports event to bet on, the most informed player will always succeed at a higher rate than those who settle for less than the best information service. Consensus services absolutely 
offer the most information and remain among the finest values to the consumer. For one low fee, you will have 
all the late telephone releases of every major reliable sports service in the industry. If you choose a consensus service that has been in business for many years, you will also have first hand knowledge on which services 
win and those who do not.  There is no reason to settle for less while paying more for a handicapping service. More information is always better.