The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the moment, so you might think that there would be little affinity for visiting Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it seems to be operating the opposite way around, with the awful economic conditions creating a larger ambition to wager, to try and discover a fast win, a way from the difficulty.
For nearly all of the people living on the abysmal nearby money, there are two common types of wagering, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else in the world, there is a state lottery where the probabilities of profiting are surprisingly small, but then the winnings are also remarkably large. It’s been said by financial experts who understand the subject that most don’t buy a ticket with a real belief of profiting. Zimbet is centered on either the domestic or the British soccer divisions and involves determining the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, mollycoddle the very rich of the country and vacationers. Up until a short while ago, there was a very large vacationing industry, built on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The market woes and associated violence have cut into this trade.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and one armed bandits, and the Plumtree Casino, which has just the slot machines. 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 have gaming tables, slot machines and video machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which offer slot machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of 2 horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Seeing as that the economy has shrunk by beyond 40 percent in recent years and with the connected poverty and conflict that has resulted, it is not known how healthy the sightseeing business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will still be around till conditions improve is simply unknown.
