The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you could think that there would be little appetite for supporting Zimbabwe’s casinos. In reality, it seems to be functioning the opposite way, with the awful economic circumstances creating a higher eagerness to play, to try and find a quick win, a way out of the difficulty.
For almost all of the citizens living on the tiny local earnings, there are 2 popular types of betting, the state lottery and Zimbet. Just as with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a national lottery where the probabilities of winning are unbelievably small, but then the jackpots are also unbelievably big. It’s been said by market analysts who look at the idea that most don’t buy a card with the rational assumption of profiting. Zimbet is centered on either the domestic or the English football leagues and involves predicting the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, pander to the astonishingly rich of the state and tourists. Up until recently, there was a considerably big tourist business, founded on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and associated bloodshed have cut into this market.
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 gambling den, which has only slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slot machines. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which have table games, slot machines and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which have video poker machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the previously alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a pools system), there is a total of 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 market has diminished by more than 40% in recent years and with the associated poverty and bloodshed that has resulted, it is not understood how well the tourist industry which supports Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will still be around till conditions get better is merely unknown.