The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you might think that there would be little affinity for supporting Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In fact, it appears to be working the opposite way around, with the critical market conditions creating a larger eagerness to play, to attempt to locate a fast win, a way from the problems.
For most of the citizens subsisting on the tiny local earnings, there are 2 common forms of gaming, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else in the world, there is a state lottery where the odds of succeeding are extremely small, but then the prizes are also very high. It’s been said by economists who look at the concept that most don’t buy a card with an actual belief of profiting. Zimbet is built on either the local or the UK football divisions and involves determining the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other foot, cater to the incredibly rich of the country and vacationers. Up till a short while ago, there was a very big vacationing business, built on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and associated conflict have carved into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and one armed bandits, and the Plumtree gambling den, 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, both of which offer gaming tables, slots and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which offer slot machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the previously alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a pools system), there are also two horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has deflated by more than 40 percent in the past few years and with the connected deprivation and bloodshed that has resulted, it isn’t understood how healthy the sightseeing industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will carry on till conditions improve is simply not known.