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The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you could imagine that there would be little desire for supporting Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In reality, it seems to be functioning the other way, with the atrocious economic conditions leading to a larger desire to play, to attempt to locate a quick win, a way out of the situation.
For most of the locals subsisting on the meager nearby wages, there are two popular forms of gaming, the state lottery and Zimbet. Just as with almost everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lotto where the probabilities of winning are surprisingly tiny, but then the jackpots are also surprisingly large. It’s been said by financial experts who study the concept that most do not buy a card with the rational expectation of hitting. Zimbet is built on one of the national or the British soccer leagues and involves determining the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other shoe, cater to the astonishingly rich of the state and vacationers. Up till a short time ago, there was a very large vacationing industry, founded on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and connected violence have cut into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has only slots. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slots. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which have table games, slots and video machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which offer video poker machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a parimutuel betting system), there is a total of two horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the economy has shrunk by beyond forty percent in recent years and with the associated poverty and conflict that has come to pass, it is not understood how healthy the sightseeing industry which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the in the years to come. How many of them will carry through until things improve is simply unknown.
