The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you could envision that there would be little affinity for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In reality, it seems to be operating the other way around, with the crucial market circumstances leading to a larger eagerness to wager, to attempt to discover a fast win, a way from the problems.
For the majority of the locals surviving on the meager local wages, there are 2 dominant forms of betting, the state lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else in the world, there is a state lottery where the probabilities of profiting are remarkably low, but then the jackpots are also remarkably large. It’s been said by economists who study the situation that most don’t buy a ticket with an actual assumption of winning. Zimbet is based on either the domestic or the UK soccer leagues and involves determining the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other foot, pander to the very rich of the country and travelers. Up until not long ago, there was a considerably big tourist industry, centered on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and associated conflict 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 slots, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has just the slot machine games. 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 gaming tables, one armed bandits and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the two of which have gaming machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the aforestated talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a parimutuel betting system), there is a total of 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 economy has shrunk by beyond forty percent in recent years and with the associated poverty and violence that has cropped up, it is not known how well the sightseeing industry which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the next few years. How many of them will carry through till conditions get better is basically not known.
