The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you might think that there would be little affinity for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it seems to be functioning the opposite way, with the crucial economic conditions leading to a larger desire to wager, to try and locate a fast win, a way out of the problems.
For many of the citizens surviving on the tiny local money, there are two dominant types of gambling, the state lottery and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lotto where the odds of winning are remarkably small, but then the prizes are also remarkably big. It’s been said by market analysts who look at the concept that the majority don’t purchase a card with a real expectation of winning. Zimbet is based on one of the national or the British soccer divisions and involves predicting the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other shoe, cater to the extremely rich of the state and vacationers. Up until a short time ago, there was a very big sightseeing business, centered on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The market anxiety and associated conflict have carved into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, 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 only slots. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only slot machines. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which contain table games, slot machines and video machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which has slot machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the aforementioned talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of two horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Seeing as that the market has deflated by beyond 40% in the past few years and with the connected deprivation and violence that has resulted, it is not well-known how healthy the sightseeing business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will carry through until conditions get better is merely unknown.
