The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the moment, so you could imagine that there would be very little appetite for supporting Zimbabwe’s casinos. In fact, it seems to be operating the other way around, with the crucial market conditions creating a higher ambition to gamble, to try and locate a fast win, a way out of the difficulty.
For most of the locals surviving on the abysmal local money, there are 2 common styles of wagering, the state lottery and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else in the world, there is a national lotto where the chances of profiting are surprisingly small, but then the jackpots are also very big. It’s been said by economists who look at the situation that the lion’s share do not purchase a card with the rational expectation of winning. Zimbet is based on either the domestic or the British football leagues and involves predicting the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other foot, cater to the considerably rich of the country and tourists. Up till a short time ago, there was a extremely large vacationing business, founded on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated crime have carved into this trade.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree gambling hall, 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 contain table games, slots and video machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which has gaming machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the aforementioned mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are also two horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has diminished by more than forty percent in the past few years and with the connected deprivation and conflict that has come to pass, it is not understood how healthy the vacationing business which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the in the years to come. How many of them will still be around until conditions improve is simply unknown.