The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you might imagine that there would be very little desire for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In reality, it appears to be working the other way around, with the awful market circumstances leading to a bigger desire to bet, to try and locate a quick win, a way from the situation.
For nearly all of the citizens living on the tiny local wages, there are two common forms of gambling, the national lotto and Zimbet. As with almost everywhere else on the globe, there is a state lotto where the odds of hitting are remarkably tiny, but then the winnings are also very large. It’s been said by economists who look at the subject that most do not purchase a ticket with the rational expectation of profiting. Zimbet is centered on either the domestic or the United Kingston soccer leagues and involves predicting the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other shoe, pander to the astonishingly rich of the country and travelers. Up until a short time ago, there was a incredibly large sightseeing business, centered on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The market woes and connected bloodshed have carved into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slot machines, 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, both of which offer gaming tables, slot machines 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 table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are also 2 horse racing complexes in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the economy has contracted by beyond forty percent in recent years and with the associated poverty and conflict that has arisen, it is not known how healthy the sightseeing industry which supports Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will carry on till things get better is merely not known.