The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the current time, so you could imagine that there might be little appetite for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it appears to be operating the other way around, with the desperate economic circumstances leading to a larger desire to gamble, to try and find a quick win, a way out of the crisis.
For most of the locals surviving on the meager local money, there are two common types of betting, the national lottery and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else in the world, there is a state lottery where the probabilities of succeeding are unbelievably small, but then the jackpots are also extremely high. It’s been said by economists who look at the subject that many do not buy a card with an actual belief of winning. Zimbet is based on one of the national or the UK soccer divisions and involves determining the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other shoe, cater to the very rich of the state and travelers. Until a short time ago, there was a extremely big sightseeing business, centered on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic 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 five gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree Casino, which has only 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, slots and video machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which offer video poker machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the aforestated alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of two horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has deflated by more than 40 percent in recent years and with the associated deprivation and bloodshed that has come to pass, it isn’t understood how healthy the vacationing industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will carry on until conditions get better is basically not known.
