The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the moment, so you might imagine that there might be little desire for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In reality, it appears to be working the opposite way around, with the crucial economic circumstances creating a greater ambition to gamble, to try and find a fast win, a way from the problems.
For almost all of the citizens subsisting on the meager local wages, there are two established types of wagering, the state lotto and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else on the globe, there is a national lottery where the chances of winning are extremely tiny, but then the winnings are also surprisingly big. It’s been said by financial experts who look at the situation that many don’t purchase a card with the rational assumption of winning. Zimbet is centered on either the local or the English football divisions and involves predicting the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other foot, cater to the incredibly rich of the country and travelers. Up until recently, there was a very substantial tourist industry, centered on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and associated bloodshed have carved into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has only slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only slots. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which offer gaming tables, slot machines and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which has video poker machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the aforestated alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there is a total of two horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has contracted by more than forty percent in recent years and with the connected poverty and conflict that has arisen, it isn’t well-known how well the vacationing business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will carry through till things get better is merely not known.