The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you could imagine that there might be very little appetite for visiting Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. Actually, it seems to be operating the other way around, with the atrocious market conditions creating a larger desire to wager, to try and find a quick win, a way out of the situation.
For almost all of the people surviving on the meager local earnings, there are 2 dominant forms of betting, the national lottery and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lottery where the chances of winning are remarkably small, but then the jackpots are also remarkably large. It’s been said by economists who look at the subject that many do not buy a ticket with the rational belief of hitting. Zimbet is built on one of the local or the English soccer leagues and involves predicting the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other hand, pander to the astonishingly rich of the state and travelers. Up until not long ago, there was a incredibly large sightseeing business, built on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and associated bloodshed have carved into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 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, the two of which have table games, slot machines and electronic 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 tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the aforestated mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of two horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the economy has shrunk by beyond 40 percent in recent years and with the connected deprivation and violence that has cropped up, it isn’t understood how healthy the sightseeing industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will carry on till things improve is simply unknown.