The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you might envision that there would be little desire for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it seems to be functioning the other way around, with the atrocious economic conditions creating a higher ambition to bet, to attempt to discover a quick win, a way out of the problems.
For nearly all of the citizens subsisting on the tiny local money, there are 2 common types of betting, the national lotto and Zimbet. As with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a national lottery where the probabilities of succeeding are remarkably tiny, but then the jackpots are also extremely high. It’s been said by market analysts who understand the subject that many don’t purchase a card with the rational assumption of hitting. Zimbet is based on either the local or the UK football leagues and involves determining the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, pamper the exceedingly rich of the country and sightseers. Until a short time ago, there was a considerably big vacationing business, centered on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and associated violence have cut into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are 2 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 slot machine games. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slot machines. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which offer gaming tables, slots and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which have slot machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a parimutuel betting system), there are also two horse racing tracks in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has shrunk by more than 40% in the past few years and with the associated poverty and conflict that has arisen, it isn’t understood how well the tourist business which funds Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the in the years to come. How many of them will carry on till conditions get better is simply unknown.