The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the current time, so you might envision that there might be little affinity for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In fact, it appears to be working the other way around, with the awful market circumstances leading to a higher desire to gamble, to try and find a quick win, a way from the crisis.
For most of the people subsisting on the meager local earnings, there are 2 established styles of gaming, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else on the globe, there is a national lotto where the chances of succeeding are remarkably small, but then the jackpots are also extremely high. It’s been said by economists who study the subject that most don’t buy a card with an actual belief of winning. Zimbet is founded on one of the national or the UK soccer divisions and involves predicting the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other foot, look after the astonishingly rich of the state and travelers. Until a short while ago, there was a extremely substantial tourist business, centered on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated conflict have carved into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has just the slots. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only slots. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which contain 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, each of which offer gaming machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the previously mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are also two horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has deflated by beyond 40% in the past few years and with the connected deprivation and violence that has cropped up, it isn’t well-known how well the tourist industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the in the years to come. How many of them will carry on till conditions improve is simply not known.