The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you may think that there might be little appetite for supporting Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In fact, it seems to be operating the opposite way, with the desperate market conditions creating a greater desire to wager, to attempt to find a quick win, a way from the crisis.
For almost all of the locals living on the tiny nearby wages, there are two established forms of gaming, the state lottery and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else on the globe, there is a state lotto where the odds of profiting are extremely low, but then the prizes are also unbelievably large. It’s been said by financial experts who study the concept that most do not purchase a ticket with a real belief of hitting. Zimbet is based on one of the local or the United Kingston soccer divisions and involves determining the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other foot, look after the incredibly rich of the country and travelers. Up until a short while ago, there was a very large sightseeing industry, founded on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The market woes and connected bloodshed have carved into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are two 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 two of which have gaming tables, slot machines and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the two of which offer video poker machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the above alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a pools system), there are a total of two horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the market has shrunk by more than 40% in recent years and with the associated poverty and conflict that has arisen, it isn’t known how well the tourist business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will carry on until conditions get better is merely not known.