The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the current time, so you could imagine that there might be little affinity for patronizing Zimbabwe’s casinos. Actually, it seems to be operating the other way around, with the atrocious market circumstances leading to a greater eagerness to bet, to try and discover a fast win, a way out of the difficulty.
For most of the people surviving on the tiny local money, there are 2 popular styles of gambling, the national lotto and Zimbet. As with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the odds of succeeding are extremely tiny, but then the winnings are also very big. It’s been said by financial experts who study the subject that the majority do not purchase a ticket with an actual belief of hitting. Zimbet is built on one of the domestic or the United Kingston football divisions and involves determining the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other hand, cater to the astonishingly rich of the country and tourists. Up till recently, there was a very big sightseeing industry, based on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and connected conflict have carved into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has just the slots. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slots. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which offer table games, slots and video machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which have video poker machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are also 2 horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has deflated by beyond 40 percent in the past few years and with the connected deprivation and crime that has cropped up, it is not known how well the vacationing industry which supports Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will carry on until conditions get better is simply not known.