The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the current time, so you could think that there might be very little appetite for going to Zimbabwe’s casinos. In fact, it appears to be working the other way, with the critical market conditions leading to a larger ambition to wager, to try and find a fast win, a way from the problems.
For nearly all of the people surviving on the meager local money, there are two dominant types of gambling, the national lotto and Zimbet. As with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a state lottery where the odds of succeeding are remarkably low, but then the winnings are also unbelievably high. It’s been said by economists who understand the situation that most don’t buy a card with a real assumption of hitting. Zimbet is based on either the local or the British soccer divisions and involves determining the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other hand, mollycoddle the incredibly rich of the country and tourists. Up till a short while ago, there was a very substantial sightseeing industry, built on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and connected crime have cut into this trade.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has only slots. 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 pair of which offer table games, slot machines and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the two of which have video poker machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the previously talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a pools system), there is a total of two horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the economy has deflated by more than 40 percent in recent years and with the associated poverty and crime that has cropped up, it isn’t understood how well the vacationing business which supports Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the next few years. How many of them will still be around till things improve is merely unknown.