The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the current time, so you could envision that there might be little affinity for supporting Zimbabwe’s casinos. In reality, it seems to be functioning the opposite way, with the awful market circumstances creating a greater eagerness to bet, to try and locate a fast win, a way out of the difficulty.
For most of the people subsisting on the abysmal local money, there are 2 popular forms of wagering, the state lottery and Zimbet. Just as with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a national lotto where the chances of winning are remarkably small, but then the prizes are also surprisingly high. It’s been said by financial experts who study the subject that many do not buy a ticket with an actual expectation of winning. Zimbet is founded on one of the local or the English football divisions and involves determining the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, look after the exceedingly rich of the country and tourists. Until a short while ago, there was a very substantial sightseeing industry, founded on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The market collapse and associated conflict have carved into this trade.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has only slot machine games. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only slots. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which contain table games, one armed bandits and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which offer gaming machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a pools system), there are also 2 horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has shrunk by more than forty percent in recent years and with the associated poverty and crime that has cropped up, it is not well-known how healthy the vacationing industry which funds Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the near future. How many of them will survive until things get better is basically unknown.
