The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you may think that there might be little appetite for going to Zimbabwe’s casinos. In fact, it appears to be functioning the other way around, with the desperate market circumstances creating a larger desire to wager, to try and discover a fast win, a way out of the situation.
For almost all of the locals surviving on the abysmal local earnings, there are two popular types of gambling, the state lotto and Zimbet. As with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a state lottery where the chances of hitting are remarkably tiny, but then the jackpots are also surprisingly high. It’s been said by financial experts who understand the subject that many don’t purchase a card with a real assumption of winning. Zimbet is founded on one of the local or the UK soccer leagues and involves predicting the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other foot, pander to the astonishingly rich of the country and sightseers. Until not long ago, there was a considerably big sightseeing business, founded on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and associated conflict have carved into this trade.
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 Casino, 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, the pair of which contain table games, slot machines and video machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which offer gaming machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the above alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of 2 horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the economy has deflated by beyond forty percent in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and violence that has arisen, it isn’t well-known how well the tourist industry which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the in the years to come. How many of them will carry through till things get better is simply not known.