The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the current time, so you could imagine that there would be very little appetite for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. Actually, it seems to be operating the other way around, with the desperate economic circumstances creating a greater desire to bet, to attempt to find a fast win, a way from the difficulty.
For most of the citizens subsisting on the abysmal nearby wages, there are two established forms of gaming, the national lottery and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else in the world, there is a national lottery where the chances of succeeding are extremely tiny, but then the jackpots are also extremely large. It’s been said by financial experts who study the situation that many do not buy a card with a real expectation of winning. Zimbet is centered on either the national or the UK football leagues and involves determining the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other foot, cater to the extremely rich of the country and tourists. Up till not long ago, there was a exceptionally substantial tourist industry, built on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The market anxiety and connected crime have carved into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are two 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 only slot machine games. 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, both of which offer table games, slots and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which has slot machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the aforestated alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there is a total of two horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Seeing as that the economy has shrunk by beyond 40% in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and conflict that has arisen, it is not well-known how well the sightseeing industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will be alive till things get better is merely not known.