The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the current time, so you might think that there would be little desire for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. Actually, it appears to be operating the other way, with the atrocious market conditions creating a larger desire to play, to attempt to find a fast win, a way from the crisis.
For most of the citizens subsisting on the tiny local earnings, there are 2 dominant forms of wagering, the state lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the odds of hitting are extremely small, but then the winnings are also extremely high. It’s been said by market analysts who study the concept that most do not purchase a card with an actual expectation of profiting. Zimbet is based on either the national or the British soccer leagues and involves determining the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other foot, mollycoddle the very rich of the society and vacationers. Up until not long ago, there was a incredibly big tourist business, centered on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The market woes and connected violence 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 slots, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has just the slots. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only one armed bandits. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which contain gaming tables, slot machines and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which have video poker machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the above alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a pools system), there are a total of two horse racing tracks in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the market has shrunk by beyond forty percent in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and violence that has arisen, it is not understood how healthy the tourist industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will be alive till conditions get better is basically not known.