The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you could think that there might be very little desire for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In reality, it seems to be working the opposite way around, with the desperate economic conditions creating a greater desire to play, to attempt to discover a fast win, a way from the situation.
For almost all of the locals living on the abysmal local wages, there are 2 dominant types of gambling, the state lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else on the globe, there is a national lotto where the probabilities of profiting are surprisingly tiny, but then the jackpots are also remarkably large. It’s been said by economists who look at the idea that many do not buy a ticket with the rational assumption of profiting. Zimbet is based on either the national or the United Kingston soccer leagues and involves determining the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other hand, look after the considerably rich of the society and vacationers. Until a short while ago, there was a very big sightseeing business, centered on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The market woes and connected bloodshed have carved into this trade.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has only slots. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just one armed bandits. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which have table games, slot machines and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the two of which have gaming machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the above talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of two horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the market has contracted by beyond 40 percent in the past few years and with the connected poverty and bloodshed that has resulted, it isn’t known how healthy the sightseeing business which funds Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the near future. How many of them will carry through until things get better is simply not known.