The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you could imagine that there would be very little affinity for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it appears to be working the opposite way, with the critical market conditions leading to a greater desire to play, to try and locate a fast win, a way from the situation.
For most of the people living on the tiny nearby wages, there are 2 established forms of gambling, the national lotto and Zimbet. As with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a national lottery where the chances of succeeding are surprisingly small, but then the jackpots are also surprisingly large. It’s been said by market analysts who study the concept that many don’t buy a card with the rational belief of winning. Zimbet is centered on either the national or the UK football divisions and involves predicting the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other shoe, pander to the extremely rich of the country and travelers. Up till not long ago, there was a exceptionally substantial sightseeing industry, founded on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and connected violence have carved into this market.
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 Casino, which has just the slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just one armed bandits. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which have table games, slots and video machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which have gaming machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the aforementioned mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a pools system), there are also two horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has deflated by more than forty percent in recent years and with the connected poverty and violence that has come about, it is not known how well the sightseeing industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the in the years to come. How many of them will carry through till things improve is merely unknown.