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The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the moment, so you might envision that there would be very little desire for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In fact, it appears to be operating the opposite way around, with the awful market conditions leading to a bigger desire to play, to attempt to find a fast win, a way out of the crisis.
For many of the locals living on the tiny nearby wages, there are two common forms of gambling, the state lotto and Zimbet. As with practically everywhere else on the globe, there is a state lotto where the chances of succeeding are extremely tiny, but then the jackpots are also very large. It’s been said by financial experts who understand the subject that many don’t purchase a ticket with an actual assumption of profiting. Zimbet is built on one of the local or the UK soccer leagues and involves predicting the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other foot, cater to the incredibly rich of the state and vacationers. Up till a short while ago, there was a very big tourist industry, built on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and connected bloodshed have cut into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are 2 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 contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which have table games, one armed bandits and video machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which has gaming machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the aforementioned mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a parimutuel betting system), there are also two horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has deflated by beyond forty percent in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and crime that has come to pass, it is not understood how well the sightseeing business which funds Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of them will carry on until things get better is merely unknown.
