The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the current time, so you could think that there would be little affinity for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it seems to be working the other way, with the desperate economic conditions creating a higher desire to wager, to try and discover a fast win, a way from the situation.
For almost all of the people subsisting on the tiny local money, there are two common styles of betting, the national lottery and Zimbet. Just as with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the odds of succeeding are unbelievably tiny, but then the winnings are also unbelievably big. It’s been said by market analysts who study the concept that most don’t purchase a card with an actual expectation of hitting. Zimbet is built on either the domestic or the English soccer divisions and involves predicting the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, pander to the incredibly rich of the nation and travelers. Up till a short time ago, there was a very substantial sightseeing business, based on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and connected conflict 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 slot machines, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has only slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only slots. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which offer table games, slot machines and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which have video poker machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the aforementioned alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a parimutuel betting system), there are also 2 horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has diminished by beyond forty percent in the past few years and with the connected poverty and violence that has arisen, it isn’t understood how healthy the vacationing industry which supports Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the near future. How many of them will still be around until conditions improve is simply unknown.