The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you might envision that there would be little appetite for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In fact, it seems to be working the other way, with the atrocious economic circumstances creating a larger desire to bet, to attempt to locate a quick win, a way from the situation.
For many of the locals subsisting on the tiny local wages, there are two established forms of wagering, the national lottery and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else on the planet, there is a national lotto where the odds of winning are surprisingly small, but then the winnings are also remarkably high. It’s been said by market analysts who look at the situation that the lion’s share do not purchase a card with a real expectation of winning. Zimbet is based on either the domestic or the British soccer leagues and involves determining the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, pamper the very rich of the society and travelers. Up till a short time ago, there was a very large vacationing industry, based on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and connected conflict have cut into this trade.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, 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 gambling den, which has just the slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just one armed bandits. Mutare contains 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 has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which has gaming machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the previously alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a pools system), there are a total of 2 horse racing tracks in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Seeing as that the market has contracted by beyond 40% in recent years and with the connected deprivation and conflict that has arisen, it is not well-known how healthy the sightseeing industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the in the years to come. How many of them will carry through until things get better is merely not known.