The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the current time, so you could think that there would be little desire for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In fact, it seems to be working the opposite way, with the critical market conditions leading to a greater ambition to gamble, to try and discover a fast win, a way out of the difficulty.
For the majority of the citizens subsisting on the tiny local money, there are 2 common styles of betting, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else on the planet, there is a national lotto where the probabilities of profiting are surprisingly small, but then the prizes are also very high. It’s been said by market analysts who look at the subject that many do not buy a ticket with the rational expectation of winning. Zimbet is built on one of the local or the British soccer divisions and involves determining the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, pamper the exceedingly rich of the society and travelers. Until a short while ago, there was a very large tourist business, based on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The market collapse and connected crime have cut into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 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 only slot machines. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which offer gaming tables, one armed bandits and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which has video poker machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are also two horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has contracted by beyond 40% in recent years and with the associated poverty and crime that has come to pass, it is not well-known how well the tourist business which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will still be around till conditions get better is basically unknown.
