The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the current time, so you might think that there would be little affinity for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In fact, it appears to be working the opposite way, with the atrocious market circumstances leading to a larger desire to gamble, to try and discover a quick win, a way out of the situation.
For many of the citizens subsisting on the tiny local money, there are 2 established types of gaming, the state lotto and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lottery where the probabilities of profiting are remarkably tiny, but then the jackpots are also unbelievably high. It’s been said by financial experts who study the subject that many do not purchase a card with the rational belief of hitting. Zimbet is centered on either the domestic or the English football divisions and involves predicting the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other hand, cater to the exceedingly rich of the state and travelers. Up until recently, there was a very big tourist business, founded on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and connected bloodshed have carved into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, 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, the pair of which have table games, slots and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which offer video poker machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the above alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a pools system), there are also two horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Seeing as that the market has diminished by more than forty percent in recent years and with the connected deprivation and crime that has come about, it isn’t known how well the sightseeing business which supports Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the near future. How many of them will still be around till things get better is merely not known.