The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you might think that there would be very little appetite for patronizing Zimbabwe’s casinos. In reality, it appears to be working the opposite way, with the desperate economic conditions creating a larger ambition to gamble, to attempt to find a quick win, a way from the difficulty.
For many of the people surviving on the tiny nearby wages, there are 2 common forms of gaming, the national lotto and Zimbet. As with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a national lotto where the chances of hitting are extremely tiny, but then the prizes are also unbelievably large. It’s been said by economists who look at the subject that many don’t purchase a ticket with a real belief of winning. Zimbet is centered on either the national or the English football leagues and involves determining the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other foot, pamper the considerably rich of the country and vacationers. Until not long ago, there was a considerably large vacationing industry, based on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated crime have cut into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has only slot machines. 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, the two of which have table games, 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 gaming machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the above talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are also 2 horse racing complexes in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the economy has contracted by more than 40% in the past few years and with the associated poverty and violence that has come to pass, it isn’t understood how healthy the vacationing industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the next few years. How many of them will be alive until conditions get better is simply not known.