The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the current time, so you could think that there would be little desire for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. Actually, it seems to be working the other way, with the atrocious market conditions leading to a bigger desire to wager, to try and discover a quick win, a way out of the situation.
For nearly all of the citizens surviving on the tiny local earnings, there are two popular forms of wagering, the national lottery and Zimbet. Just as with almost everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lottery where the probabilities of profiting are surprisingly small, but then the winnings are also very high. It’s been said by financial experts who study the concept that the majority don’t buy a card with a real expectation of winning. Zimbet is centered on one of the national or the British football divisions and involves predicting the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other hand, mollycoddle the extremely rich of the nation and vacationers. Up until recently, there was a very substantial sightseeing industry, based on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and associated conflict have cut into this trade.
Among Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has only slot machine games. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just one armed bandits. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which contain gaming tables, one armed bandits and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the two of which have gaming machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a pools system), there are also 2 horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has diminished by beyond 40% in recent years and with the associated poverty and conflict that has come about, it isn’t understood how healthy the tourist industry which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of them will carry on till things get better is basically unknown.