The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the current time, so you might think that there might be little affinity for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In reality, it seems to be working the opposite way, with the awful economic circumstances creating a higher desire to wager, to try and find a fast win, a way from the situation.
For nearly all of the people living on the abysmal local wages, there are two established forms of gaming, the national lottery and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else on the planet, there is a national lottery where the chances of profiting are surprisingly tiny, but then the winnings are also remarkably large. It’s been said by financial experts who look at the situation that the majority do not buy a card with the rational belief of winning. Zimbet is centered on either the domestic or the UK football leagues and involves predicting the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other shoe, cater to the considerably rich of the state and tourists. Until not long ago, there was a exceptionally large sightseeing industry, built on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The market collapse and connected conflict have cut into this trade.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and one armed bandits, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has just the slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only slot machines. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which contain table games, slot machines and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which offer slot machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the previously talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a pools system), there are a total of two horse racing complexes in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has shrunk by more than 40% in the past few years and with the connected deprivation and conflict that has cropped up, it is not well-known how healthy the sightseeing business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the near future. How many of them will carry through until conditions get better is merely unknown.