In late May, Shark started running an insane bonus promotion through the BonusBud site. 100% cashable signup bonus, no maximum, 40x bonus+deposit wagering with blackjack ok. People on the Bonusbud forum were often depositing thousands – maybe even tens of thousands – each.
This is likely relevant in two ways:
1. The timing of that bonus coincides with when they approached you; clearly they had a big marketing push at that time. Possibly this was because they were in financial trouble and needed an influx of cash
2. It’s highly likely that they lost a fortune on that bonus, and that may have either caused their current financial problems or, if the promotion was created because of existing problems, made them much worse.
My guess is they simply don’t have the money to pay either their affiliates or their winners.
There are currently two non-payal threads on Casinomeister:
http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/casino-complaints-non-bonus-issues/13365-shark-casino-owes-me-29-500-a.html
http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/casino-complaints-non-bonus-issues/13846-sharkcasino-wont-pay-my-wins.html