The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the current time, so you might imagine that there might be little affinity for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In fact, it seems to be operating the other way, with the atrocious market conditions creating a greater ambition to play, to try and discover a fast win, a way out of the problems.
For the majority of the locals living on the abysmal local money, there are 2 dominant types of gambling, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the probabilities of winning are surprisingly small, but then the winnings are also extremely large. It’s been said by financial experts who understand the idea that most don’t purchase a ticket with the rational expectation of winning. Zimbet is centered on one of the local or the English soccer divisions and involves predicting the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other shoe, pander to the exceedingly rich of the nation and travelers. Up until recently, there was a considerably substantial tourist industry, centered on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The market woes and associated conflict have cut into this trade.
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 just the slot machine games. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just one armed bandits. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which have table games, one armed bandits and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which have gaming machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the previously mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there is a total of two horse racing tracks in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the market has deflated by beyond 40 percent in recent years and with the associated deprivation and violence that has come to pass, it is not known how well the tourist industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will carry on till things improve is merely unknown.