Today there are so many companies competing to get your custom that is it now a given that you will be offered a free bet to sign up with a particular company. Free bets are a great way to attract customers as everyone loves something free. Every bookmaker and sportsbook must offer a free bet now otherwise they will be at a major disadvantage in the market.

A lot of people bring up questions about the terms and conditions of the free bets that bookmakers offer. However it is important that they protect themselves as they are giving away huge amounts of their revenue for nothing. When the free bet phenomenon first started, they were very easy to claim. Usually you could just sign up and receive free money. However people, now often referred to as bonus hunters took advantage of this and just signed up to as many bookmakers as they could so that they could claim the free money. This had a big financial impact on the bookmakers as they had a huge number of these low value players who weren’t really interested in playing again after the free bet was claimed.

Nowadays free bets are a little harder to claim. They are still very fair though, and they are aimed at customers who want to bet. A common condition for a free bet is that you place a bet of equal amount before receiving the free money. There is nothing untoward about this. A genuine customer would be making a bet and risking money anyway even if there wasn’t a free bet available. Another common condition in order to claim the free bet is that there are minimum odds that first bet must be made on. This too is pretty fair as the odds are usually set low anyway. It’s just to stop bonus hunters betting on something is 99% guaranteed to happen so they don’t lose their stake when claiming the free bet. That said however, there are still several bookmakers that don’t require a minimum odds on your first bet.

The betting industry is highly regulated and every company is thoroughly checked out before beginning operations. Each bookmaker also requires a licence to run. There is no way any of these companies would get away with anything unethical for long. All free bets are fully explained on each bookmaker’s terms and conditions page. There may be some things that customers might think are unfair, but these are only there to protect the company, and like explained in this article, the conditions shouldn’t really affect any genuine punter that joins with intention of being a long-term customer.

Perhaps you’re the couple who get restless after 40 minutes on your sun-loungers, or you feel uncomfortable in the more conventional luxury resorts. Honeymoons in Borneo offer an unconventional spin on tropical pampered luxury. A combination of discreet, beautiful resorts around the coast, & a jaw-dropping, mega-diverse rainforest interior, Borneo lets you relax in authentic luxury… whenever you’re not scrambling through the jungle, seeking some of the most spectacular wildlife on Earth:

Bay Cat

This reddish brown feline, tinted with black markings & golden brown fur on its underside, lives exclusively on Borneo. The same size as a large domestic cat, the Bay Cat may seem unremarkable from a distance – but once you take in its long tail, small rounded ears, & beautifully feral face, you instinctively understand that you’re witnessing something extraordinary. The rarest & most elusive feline in the world, a living Bay Cat wasn’t photographed until 1998, despite being discovered in 1855.

Pygmy Elephant

The smallest elephant species in the world (males rarely exceed 2.5m in height) resides only in Borneo’s North East. Its small size evolved – scientists theorise – to let the elephant flourish in dense forest habitat. The elephants also have unusually long tails, & the males have perfectly straight tusks, but perhaps their strangest feature is their tameness. Pygmy Elephants show a remarkable tolerance of humans, even in fairly close quarters. You can regularly observe them from boats in the bays of the Lower Kinabatangan River.

Hornbills

You’ve every chance of spotting one or all of the eight Hornbill bird species anywhere along the Kinabatangan River. Wrinkled, Wreathed, Rhinoceros, Black, White-Crowned, Helmeted, Oriental Pied, & Bushy-Crested Hornbills each have unique features & colouring, but – as the name suggests – they all possess a pronounced curved beak. Its evolution led to a distinctive feeding habit; the Hornbill’s tongue didn’t grow with its long bill, so the bird must toss back its head to swallow any food.

Sun Bear

At 4 feet tall, the Sun Bear is the world’s smallest bear. Severely threatened by loss of habitat, capture, enslavement & poaching, this little known bear is primarily nocturnal, spending its nights feasting on plants & animals. In 2008, the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre was established in Sabah (Eastern Borneo), giving the creatures a chance to grow their dwindling population of 10,000. The centre has undertaken excellent work since its inception & is your best chance to see the Sun Bears for yourself.

Bornean Rhino

The Sumatran Rhinoceros is the smallest rhino, although, weighing up to 1000kg, it should not be considered a featherweight by any measure. Sadly, its horn highly valued in traditional medicine, the Sumatran Rhino has been pushed onto the critically endangered list by poachers, with some experts estimating as few as 40 animals remaining in the wild. The Lok Kawi Wildlife Park is a good place to seek them – feel immensely privileged if you spot one.

The Orangutan

Exemplifying Borneo’s obscurely beautiful & tragically endangered wildlife, the island’s Orangutan population has suffered greatly, due to the loss of its habitat to palm oil & timber plantations. Thanks to many successful projects that publicised the species’ plight, Orangutans are now fighting extinction, but they’re still threatened. Witness them in conservation projects that protect their habitat & supplement their diet with offerings of fruit & water.

Jonny Good is a writer & martial arts professional who loves scaring himself with shark encounters & travelling with his friends & family.

So you find yourself in London for just 24 hours in-between flights – how are you going to make sure that you get the most out of your time in one of the world’s most exciting cities? Here is our guide to how to cram as much as possible into your time in London before jetting off to your next destination.

Begin the day early with a stroll around Hyde Park, wander past the Serpentine and pay a visit to the Princess Diana Memorial. Stroll down past Hyde Park Corner and through Green Park on to Buckingham Palace.

After taking the obligatory tourist snap with the iconic guards at the Palace continue your walking tour of the cities green spaces with a stroll through St James’s Park and down to Trafalgar Square. Take in Nelson’s Column and battle the other tourists to climb up onto the imposing marble lions that guard the column.

Maybe refresh with a coffee and a snack and then head down Whitehall, past the impressive government buildings to see Downing Street which Prime Minister, David Cameron, calls home. Only a few more metres down the road you will come across the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey – some of the capitals most famous and beautiful buildings.

Just across the river is the London Eye. Yes, it is basically a giant ferris wheel but at 443 foot, each 30-minute ‘flight’ provides you with wonderful, uninterrupted views of the city.

Every visit to London should involve a stroll along the South Bank on the River Thames. It’s a great opportunity for some people watching and there are lots of street performers wowing crowds, book stalls to peruse and places to grab a bite to eat or a drink. Eventually you will stumble upon the imposing disused power station that has been converted into the Tate Modern, one of London’s most popular museums with locals and tourists alike.

When you can drag yourself away from the modern art, continue your walk along the South Bank taking in St Paul’s Cathedral on the other side of the river and on to Borough Market. This farmers market is a foodie heaven and after all your walking, you will deserve to treat yourself. Sample the cheese, bread, pestos and pastries on offer and wash it down with some traditional English cider.

By now, you will no doubt be weary from all the walking so it’s time to hop on a tube to Liverpool Street. From here you can wander through the stalls and trendy shops of Spitalfields Market on to Brick Lane where if you can fit it in, you can enjoy one of the best Indian curries in London. No doubt you will be exhausted but if you can manage it, the area around Brick Lane and Shoreditch High Street provides lots of great options for late night watering holes.

Your 24 hours in London will be tiring but it will also leave you wanting more. Be sure to visit again soon.

• When looking for flats to let you need to think about the price of the property per month and also factor in all utility bills, food and any other luxuries such as digital television, furniture etc. Get a budget and stick rigidly to it otherwise you may find yourself in trouble. When you writing your budget you also need to include any deposits or bonds you may have to pay up front. The deposit is usually around 2 months’ rent and is usually refundable should you move out at a later date. Remember that you might have to pay a credit search fee before your application is taken on.
• The location of your first flat in Manchester is important and the location will certainly affect the price of the flat that you are looking to rent. If you want to be in the city Centre then you can expect to pay a high amount for any flats for rent. You may also be looking for good transport links, nightlife and also very low crime rates and these are all central factors to the price and quality of your first rental. Check out the local guides in estate agents and on the internet to the different areas.
• When you’re going to view your first flat in Manchester take someone objective with you who will be able to give you a second opinion. Also, look for major structural problems like damp and if any work is needed then make it go into the contract that you want the work doing before you actually move in.
• Always check the small print in any contract that you sign – how long your tenancy is for, how much notice is needed and what bills you’re expected to pay.
• Write an inventory when you move into your first Manchester flat, showing exactly what was in it when you took it over and if you see any damage or any repairs needed take photographs with the dates on them and keep them safe. This will support your claim should the landlord try and say you were responsible for the damages.
• Make sure you know all the laws and the rules where your first flat is concerned; you need to know what the letting agents are capable of doing under law and what you should be expecting from them.

Of course, there’s lots of industries which will carry on thriving even throughout this period. Supermarkets continue to rack up big profit rises and ecommerce is still booming. But what if your own industry is getting battered? If the dole queue is looking like a reality for you – and many long-established businesses are still going to the wall – then it might be time to think about looking abroad for work.

If you do so, then one option is to look at jobs in the Middle East. This might seem like a very daunting prospect if your knowledge of the region is confined to news bulletins, but it won’t have escaped your attention that the region is actually a very forward-looking, dynamic business environment right now.

What’s more, the countries of the UAE in particular are seeking the kind of technical expertise that we in Britain have in abundance. Whether it’s banking jobs in the Gulf, financial or computing jobs, white-collar experience and knowledge is a great asset in the region.

Most companies will offer relatively short term contracts from 6 – 18 months, so even if you just want to flee the coop while the storm blows over at home then it’s probably a good time to think about it.