The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the moment, so you might envision that there would be little affinity for visiting Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In reality, it seems to be working the other way around, with the desperate market circumstances leading to a higher desire to bet, to try and locate a fast win, a way out of the situation.
For almost all of the locals subsisting on the meager nearby money, there are 2 established styles of wagering, the state lotto and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the probabilities of succeeding are unbelievably tiny, but then the jackpots are also surprisingly large. It’s been said by economists who look at the idea that the majority do not buy a card with a real expectation of winning. Zimbet is founded on one of the domestic or the UK soccer divisions and involves determining the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other shoe, mollycoddle the extremely rich of the nation and sightseers. Up until a short time ago, there was a incredibly substantial tourist business, founded on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and connected conflict have cut into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and one armed bandits, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has just the slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only slot machines. Mutare has 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 houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which have gaming machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the above talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a pools system), there are also 2 horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has diminished by more than 40% in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and crime that has come about, it isn’t understood how well the tourist industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of them will survive until things improve is merely not known.
