The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the moment, so you may imagine that there might be very little appetite for supporting Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In fact, it appears to be operating the opposite way around, with the crucial economic circumstances creating a bigger ambition to bet, to try and locate a quick win, a way from the situation.
For almost all of the people living on the meager nearby wages, there are 2 dominant types of betting, the state lottery and Zimbet. Just as with almost everywhere else on the globe, there is a state lotto where the chances of profiting are surprisingly small, but then the prizes are also remarkably high. It’s been said by economists who study the subject that most don’t buy a ticket with an actual expectation of profiting. Zimbet is based on either the local or the English football divisions and involves predicting the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other hand, pander to the very rich of the nation and travelers. Up until recently, there was a very substantial vacationing business, founded on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and connected bloodshed have carved into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has only slot machine games. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only one armed bandits. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which contain table games, one armed bandits and video machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which have slot machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a parimutuel betting system), there is a total of 2 horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the market has deflated by beyond 40 percent in recent years and with the connected poverty and crime that has arisen, it isn’t 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 survive until conditions get better is basically not known.
