The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you could think that there might be very little appetite for visiting Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In fact, it appears to be operating the other way, with the desperate market conditions leading to a bigger desire to wager, to attempt to locate a fast win, a way out of the difficulty.
For most of the locals surviving on the abysmal local earnings, there are two common forms of betting, the national lotto and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else on the globe, there is a state lottery where the odds of succeeding are unbelievably low, but then the jackpots are also extremely large. It’s been said by market analysts who understand the concept that the lion’s share do not buy a ticket with the rational assumption of winning. Zimbet is centered on either the local or the British soccer divisions and involves determining the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other shoe, cater to the extremely rich of the state and travelers. Up until recently, there was a incredibly large tourist business, based on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and connected conflict have carved into this trade.
Amongst 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 hall, which has only slot machine games. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slot machines. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which offer table games, slots and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the two of which have slot machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the previously mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of 2 horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has shrunk by beyond 40 percent in recent years and with the connected poverty and crime that has arisen, it isn’t understood how well the sightseeing industry which funds Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will carry on till conditions improve is merely unknown.