The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you may envision that there might be little desire for supporting Zimbabwe’s casinos. In fact, it appears to be operating the other way, with the awful economic circumstances leading to a larger desire to bet, to try and find a quick win, a way out of the difficulty.
For nearly all of the people living on the abysmal local money, there are 2 established styles of betting, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the odds of hitting are extremely tiny, but then the winnings are also remarkably high. It’s been said by market analysts who understand the subject that many don’t purchase a ticket with an actual belief of profiting. Zimbet is founded on either the local or the UK football divisions and involves predicting the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other shoe, pander to the incredibly rich of the state and sightseers. Up till recently, there was a extremely large sightseeing industry, centered on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The market collapse and associated crime have cut into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, 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 Casino, which has just the slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just one armed bandits. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which offer table games, slot machines and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the two of which offer slot machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a pools system), there is a total of 2 horse racing complexes in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has shrunk by beyond forty percent in recent years and with the connected poverty and conflict that has cropped up, it is not well-known how well the tourist industry which funds Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will still be around till conditions improve is merely unknown.
