The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you may think that there might be little affinity for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it appears to be operating the opposite way around, with the atrocious market circumstances creating a bigger eagerness to bet, to try and find a quick win, a way out of the problems.
For many of the locals surviving on the tiny local money, there are 2 established forms of gaming, the state lottery and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else on the globe, there is a national lottery where the odds of hitting are remarkably tiny, but then the prizes are also very big. It’s been said by financial experts who understand the subject that the majority don’t buy a ticket with the rational expectation of winning. Zimbet is built on one of the local or the English soccer divisions and involves determining the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other hand, pamper the very rich of the society and tourists. Up till not long ago, there was a incredibly substantial tourist business, centered on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The market anxiety and associated bloodshed have cut into this trade.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has just the slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only slots. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which have gaming tables, slots and video 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 table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the above talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a pools system), there are also 2 horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Seeing as that the market has diminished by beyond 40 percent in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and violence that has resulted, it isn’t well-known how healthy the vacationing industry which funds Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the next few years. How many of them will survive until things get better is basically unknown.