The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you may envision that there might be very little appetite for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it seems to be functioning the opposite way around, with the desperate economic circumstances creating a higher eagerness to gamble, to try and find a fast win, a way from the problems.
For the majority of the people surviving on the tiny local wages, there are two common styles of gambling, the national lotto and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lotto where the probabilities of hitting are remarkably low, but then the jackpots are also remarkably big. It’s been said by market analysts who understand the subject that the majority do not purchase a ticket with a real expectation of winning. Zimbet is based on either the domestic or the UK football leagues and involves determining the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other shoe, look after the very rich of the state and sightseers. Until a short time ago, there was a exceptionally large tourist industry, centered on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The market collapse and connected conflict have carved into this trade.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, 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 just the slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only slots. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which contain gaming tables, slot machines and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the two of which has gaming machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the aforestated mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a parimutuel betting system), there are also 2 horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Seeing as that the economy has shrunk by more than 40% in recent years and with the associated deprivation and bloodshed that has arisen, it isn’t well-known how healthy the tourist industry which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the near future. How many of them will carry through until things get better is merely unknown.
