The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you might think that there would be little desire for going to Zimbabwe’s casinos. Actually, it appears to be working the opposite way, with the desperate market conditions creating a greater desire to play, to attempt to discover a fast win, a way from the difficulty.
For most of the people living on the meager local earnings, there are two established types of wagering, the national lotto and Zimbet. As with practically everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the chances of profiting are extremely tiny, but then the prizes are also very high. It’s been said by economists who look at the idea that the lion’s share don’t buy a card with an actual expectation of winning. Zimbet is founded on either the national or the United Kingston football leagues and involves predicting the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other hand, cater to the exceedingly rich of the state and travelers. Up till a short while ago, there was a very big sightseeing business, founded on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated crime have cut into this trade.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and one armed bandits, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has just the slots. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only one armed bandits. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which contain table games, slots and video 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 tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos 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.
Given that the market has shrunk by beyond 40 percent in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and conflict that has come about, it isn’t known how well the vacationing industry which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the near future. How many of them will survive till conditions get better is simply not known.
