Of course, nothing is perfect. But, as you said it yourself, this forum is a good place to get reliable info about a sportsbook. Yes, there are sites doing honest reviews, but most websites with casino ratings hardly can be trusted. What I've noticed is that they can include 3-4 really good sites in their top 10, and then put on the 2nd, or even on the first place, the shady site that paid them, and since there's no forum there, you won't see any objections.
I think mostly they post dubious sites for referral links. I do not think that such reviewers are often paid for "job". We can see paid reviews on major review sites, but their review mostly shows small problems to increase the credibility of the reviewer and the casino. It's better to look here for what the players are saying.
The most if the review sites we have now including autopilot are making money from reviewing crypto gambling sites. Initially they might not be paid but later the gambling platform would allocate fund to them to boost their site review so they can have more new gamblers joining their platforms. This method are not bad but also those reviewing sites need money to maintain the services they offers to the public.