The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the current time, so you could think that there would be little appetite for going to Zimbabwe’s casinos. Actually, it seems to be functioning the other way, with the critical market conditions creating a larger ambition to gamble, to attempt to discover a quick win, a way out of the situation.
For many of the people living on the meager nearby wages, there are two dominant styles of gambling, the state lottery and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else in the world, there is a national lotto where the odds of succeeding are remarkably small, but then the jackpots are also remarkably high. It’s been said by economists who understand the idea that the majority don’t purchase a ticket with the rational belief of profiting. Zimbet is founded on either the domestic or the British soccer leagues and involves predicting the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, pander to the very rich of the society and travelers. Up until not long ago, there was a very big vacationing industry, centered on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and connected crime have carved into this trade.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and one armed bandits, and the Plumtree Casino, which has just the slot machine games. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slots. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which have 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, the two of which have video poker machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the previously talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there is a total of 2 horse racing tracks in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has deflated by more than forty percent in the past few years and with the associated poverty and bloodshed that has arisen, it isn’t known how well the tourist industry which funds Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the next few years. How many of them will be alive until conditions get better is merely unknown.