The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the current time, so you could think that there might be very little appetite for visiting Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it appears to be operating the other way, with the desperate market circumstances leading to a greater desire to gamble, to try and locate a quick win, a way from the difficulty.
For most of the people living on the abysmal nearby earnings, there are two established types of gaming, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else on the globe, there is a national lotto where the probabilities of hitting are extremely low, but then the prizes are also extremely large. It’s been said by financial experts who study the subject that many don’t buy a ticket with a real expectation of winning. Zimbet is based on either the local or the United Kingston soccer divisions and involves determining the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other foot, pander to the extremely rich of the nation and tourists. Up till recently, there was a considerably substantial tourist business, built on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The market collapse and connected violence have cut into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree Casino, which has just the slot machines. 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, both of which have gaming tables, slot machines and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the two of which offer gaming machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the previously talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of two horse racing tracks in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the market has contracted by more than 40% in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and violence that has arisen, it is not understood how healthy the vacationing industry which supports Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will survive until conditions get better is simply not known.
