The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the moment, so you might think that there would be very little appetite for supporting Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In reality, it seems to be operating the other way, with the desperate economic circumstances leading to a greater eagerness to wager, to try and discover a fast win, a way out of the crisis.
For nearly all of the people surviving on the meager local money, there are two popular forms of gaming, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a national lottery where the probabilities of succeeding are extremely tiny, but then the prizes are also unbelievably large. It’s been said by market analysts who understand the idea that the majority don’t purchase a ticket with an actual expectation of profiting. Zimbet is based on either the domestic or the English soccer divisions and involves predicting the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other foot, cater to the exceedingly rich of the country and travelers. Up till a short time ago, there was a extremely substantial tourist business, centered on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The market anxiety and associated crime have carved into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are two 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 only slot machine games. 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 offer gaming tables, 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 has gaming machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the aforestated alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a pools system), there are a total of two horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the market has diminished by more than 40% in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and bloodshed that has arisen, it is not known how healthy the tourist industry which supports Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of them will be alive till conditions get better is basically unknown.
