The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the moment, so you could envision that there would be very little desire for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it seems to be operating the opposite way, with the awful economic circumstances creating a greater desire to wager, to attempt to discover a fast win, a way out of the crisis.

For many of the citizens subsisting on the tiny local wages, there are 2 common forms of gaming, the state lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else in the world, there is a state lottery where the chances of hitting are surprisingly small, but then the jackpots are also surprisingly high. It’s been said by financial experts who look at the concept that the majority do not buy a card with an actual belief of hitting. Zimbet is based on one of the domestic or the English soccer divisions and involves determining the results of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other foot, mollycoddle the incredibly rich of the nation and tourists. Up till a short while ago, there was a incredibly big tourist business, built on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated conflict have carved into this market.

Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and one armed bandits, and the Plumtree Casino, which has only slots. 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 offer table games, one armed bandits and video poker 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 very like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of two horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.

Given that the economy has contracted by beyond 40 percent in recent years and with the connected poverty and bloodshed that has cropped up, it is not understood how healthy the tourist business which funds Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the in the years to come. How many of them will still be around till things improve is simply unknown.