The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the moment, so you might imagine that there would be little affinity for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In reality, it appears to be functioning the other way, with the atrocious economic conditions leading to a greater eagerness to gamble, to try and locate a quick win, a way out of the situation.
For many of the locals subsisting on the tiny local wages, there are 2 common types of betting, the national lottery and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else on the globe, there is a state lotto where the probabilities of profiting are unbelievably small, but then the winnings are also surprisingly high. It’s been said by economists who understand the situation that most don’t purchase a ticket with the rational assumption of winning. Zimbet is centered on either the national or the United Kingston soccer leagues and involves predicting the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other shoe, pander to the astonishingly rich of the state and tourists. Up until a short time ago, there was a exceptionally big vacationing industry, built on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated crime have carved into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has only slots. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only one armed bandits. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which contain table games, slot machines and video 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 tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the aforementioned alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of 2 horse racing tracks in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has shrunk by beyond 40% in recent years and with the connected deprivation and violence that has resulted, it is not understood how well the tourist business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will carry through till things get better is merely not known.