The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the moment, so you might imagine that there might be very little appetite for visiting Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In fact, it seems to be functioning the other way, with the crucial market conditions leading to a bigger desire to play, to attempt to discover a quick win, a way out of the difficulty.
For the majority of the citizens subsisting on the meager local wages, there are two popular types of wagering, the state lotto and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the chances of hitting are surprisingly tiny, but then the prizes are also unbelievably large. It’s been said by economists who understand the subject that most don’t buy a ticket with an actual expectation of hitting. Zimbet is centered on one of the national or the English football leagues and involves predicting the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other shoe, mollycoddle the astonishingly rich of the state and sightseers. Until recently, there was a very large tourist business, built on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated conflict have carved into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, 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 Casino, which has just the slot machines. 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, the two of which have gaming tables, slots and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which offer gaming machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the aforementioned mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of two horse racing complexes in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has diminished by more than 40% in recent years and with the associated poverty and crime that has resulted, it isn’t known how well the tourist business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will carry on till things improve is merely unknown.
