The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the current time, so you could imagine that there would be very little appetite for visiting Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In fact, it seems to be working the other way around, with the desperate economic conditions creating a higher desire to wager, to attempt to locate a quick win, a way out of the problems.
For the majority of the locals surviving on the tiny local earnings, there are two popular types of betting, the state lotto and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else on the globe, there is a national lotto where the odds of hitting are unbelievably low, but then the jackpots are also surprisingly big. It’s been said by economists who understand the situation that most don’t purchase a ticket with a real assumption of hitting. Zimbet is centered on one of the domestic or the British football leagues and involves determining the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, pander to the astonishingly rich of the country and tourists. Until recently, there was a considerably large tourist industry, built on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and connected violence have cut into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree Casino, which has only slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slots. 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 has gaming machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the aforementioned alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there is a total of two horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has contracted by beyond 40% in recent years and with the associated poverty and crime that has resulted, it isn’t known how healthy the tourist industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will carry on till things get better is basically not known.