The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you might imagine that there might be very little desire for supporting Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. Actually, it appears to be operating the other way, with the awful economic conditions creating a larger eagerness to gamble, to attempt to find a fast win, a way out of the crisis.
For nearly all of the locals subsisting on the abysmal nearby wages, there are 2 dominant styles of betting, the national lottery and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else on the planet, there is a national lotto where the chances of profiting are surprisingly low, but then the prizes are also unbelievably big. It’s been said by economists who understand the concept that most don’t buy a card with an actual assumption of hitting. Zimbet is based on one of the domestic or the UK soccer leagues and involves determining the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other hand, cater to the very rich of the society and sightseers. Until not long ago, there was a very big tourist business, based on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and connected conflict have carved 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 one armed bandits, and the Plumtree Casino, which has only slot machines. 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, both of which have table games, slot machines and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which has video poker machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the previously mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a pools system), there are a total of two horse racing tracks in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Seeing as that the economy has deflated by more than 40 percent in recent years and with the associated deprivation and crime that has cropped up, it isn’t known how well the vacationing industry which supports Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will survive until conditions get better is simply unknown.