The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the current time, so you could think that there would be little appetite for supporting Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In fact, it appears to be functioning the opposite way, with the atrocious market circumstances leading to a greater desire to wager, to attempt to find a quick win, a way out of the difficulty.
For most of the people surviving on the abysmal local wages, there are two common styles of wagering, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with almost everywhere else on the planet, there is a national lotto where the probabilities of profiting are remarkably tiny, but then the jackpots are also unbelievably big. It’s been said by economists who understand the subject that many do not buy a card with an actual belief of hitting. Zimbet is based on one of the national or the English football leagues and involves determining the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other foot, mollycoddle the incredibly rich of the country and tourists. Up until recently, there was a considerably substantial vacationing business, built on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and associated crime have cut into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and one armed bandits, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has only slots. 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 pair of which offer gaming tables, one armed bandits and video machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which have gaming machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens 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 state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has deflated by beyond forty percent in the past few years and with the connected poverty and crime that has arisen, it is not well-known how healthy the vacationing business which funds Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will survive until conditions get better is basically not known.