The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you may imagine that there might be little appetite for patronizing Zimbabwe’s casinos. In fact, it seems to be working the other way around, with the critical economic circumstances leading to a greater ambition to play, to try and locate a quick win, a way from the situation.
For almost all of the people surviving on the abysmal local wages, there are 2 dominant styles of wagering, the state lottery and Zimbet. As with practically everywhere else on the globe, there is a national lotto where the chances of profiting are surprisingly tiny, but then the winnings are also unbelievably high. It’s been said by economists who look at the subject that most do not buy a ticket with a real expectation of winning. Zimbet is centered on one of the domestic or the English football leagues and involves determining the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other shoe, pamper the astonishingly rich of the society and sightseers. Up till recently, there was a incredibly substantial sightseeing business, based on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and connected violence have cut into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree Casino, which has just the slots. 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 offer table games, slots and video machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which offer video poker machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the previously mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of 2 horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has shrunk by more than forty percent in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and crime that has resulted, it isn’t understood how well the vacationing industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will survive until things improve is merely not known.