The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the current time, so you may think that there would be little affinity for visiting Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In reality, it appears to be operating the other way, with the critical economic conditions leading to a higher eagerness to bet, to try and find a fast win, a way out of the problems.
For almost all of the locals surviving on the meager local earnings, there are 2 popular types of betting, the national lottery and Zimbet. As with practically everywhere else on the globe, there is a state lottery where the probabilities of profiting are surprisingly low, but then the prizes are also unbelievably high. It’s been said by economists who understand the situation that many don’t purchase a ticket with a real expectation of hitting. Zimbet is centered on either the local or the British football leagues and involves predicting the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, pander to the exceedingly rich of the state and travelers. Until recently, there was a very big sightseeing business, built on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and associated bloodshed have cut into this market.
Among 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 Casino, which has only slots. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slot machines. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which have gaming tables, slots and electronic 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 blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the above alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are also two horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the market has deflated by more than 40% in the past few years and with the connected poverty and crime that has come about, it isn’t understood how well the vacationing industry which supports Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will be alive till conditions get better is merely not known.
