The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the current time, so you might imagine that there would be little appetite for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In fact, it appears to be operating the other way around, with the atrocious economic circumstances creating a larger ambition to gamble, to attempt to find a quick win, a way out of the problems.
For nearly all of the people living on the meager nearby wages, there are two dominant styles of wagering, the national lottery and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else in the world, there is a state lottery where the probabilities of profiting are extremely small, but then the jackpots are also extremely large. It’s been said by economists who look at the concept that the lion’s share don’t buy a ticket with a real expectation of winning. Zimbet is based on one of the local or the British soccer divisions and involves predicting the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other foot, pamper the extremely rich of the nation and vacationers. Until recently, there was a very large sightseeing industry, centered on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and associated bloodshed 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 five gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree Casino, which has only slot machines. 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 contain gaming tables, one armed bandits and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which offer slot machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the aforementioned mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a pools system), there are also 2 horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has shrunk by beyond forty percent in the past few years and with the associated poverty and crime that has arisen, it isn’t understood how well the tourist business which supports Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will still be around until conditions improve is basically unknown.