The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you could imagine that there would be little appetite for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In fact, it seems to be operating the other way around, with the awful economic circumstances creating a higher ambition to gamble, to attempt to locate a fast win, a way out of the problems.
For most of the locals surviving on the tiny local earnings, there are 2 common forms of gaming, the national lottery and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lotto where the odds of succeeding are unbelievably tiny, but then the jackpots are also unbelievably big. It’s been said by financial experts who look at the idea that most do not buy a ticket with the rational belief of hitting. Zimbet is founded on either the national or the British soccer leagues and involves predicting the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other foot, mollycoddle the considerably rich of the society and tourists. Up till a short while ago, there was a very large tourist industry, founded on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and associated bloodshed have cut into this trade.
Among Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and one armed bandits, and the Plumtree Casino, which has only slots. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just one armed bandits. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which offer gaming tables, one armed bandits and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which offer video poker machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the previously mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a parimutuel betting system), there are also two horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has deflated by beyond 40% in recent years and with the associated poverty and bloodshed that has cropped up, it isn’t understood how well the vacationing business which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of them will carry on till conditions get better is simply not known.
