The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you could imagine that there would be very little affinity for supporting Zimbabwe’s casinos. Actually, it appears to be functioning the other way, with the awful economic circumstances leading to a higher eagerness to wager, to try and find a quick win, a way out of the situation.
For many of the people living on the meager local wages, there are 2 popular forms of wagering, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the odds of hitting are unbelievably tiny, but then the jackpots are also remarkably big. It’s been said by market analysts who look at the subject that most don’t buy a ticket with an actual assumption of profiting. Zimbet is built on one of the domestic or the United Kingston soccer leagues and involves determining the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other foot, cater to the very rich of the country and vacationers. Up until not long ago, there was a considerably substantial tourist industry, centered on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The market woes and associated conflict have cut into this trade.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has only slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only one armed bandits. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which contain table games, slot machines and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which has slot machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the above talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a pools system), there are a total of 2 horse racing complexes in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the economy has shrunk by beyond 40% in recent years and with the associated deprivation and violence that has come to pass, it isn’t understood how well the sightseeing industry which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the near future. How many of them will be alive till conditions get better is simply unknown.
