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The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the current time, so you may imagine that there would be very little appetite for supporting Zimbabwe’s casinos. Actually, it appears to be operating the other way, with the crucial market conditions creating a greater desire to wager, to attempt to find a quick win, a way out of the crisis.
For nearly all of the locals living on the tiny nearby wages, there are two established styles of wagering, the national lottery and Zimbet. As with practically everywhere else on the globe, there is a national lotto where the chances of profiting are remarkably tiny, but then the prizes are also unbelievably big. It’s been said by financial experts who study the concept that the lion’s share do not purchase a ticket with the rational expectation of hitting. Zimbet is based on either the national or the British football leagues and involves predicting the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other foot, pander to the extremely rich of the nation and sightseers. Until not long ago, there was a very large tourist business, built on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The market woes and connected crime have carved into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, 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 den, which has only slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slot machines. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which offer table games, one armed bandits and video machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which offer gaming machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the aforementioned talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of two horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the market has deflated by more than 40% in recent years and with the connected deprivation and bloodshed that has come to pass, it isn’t understood how well the vacationing business which funds Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will still be around until things get better is basically unknown.
