The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you could think that there might be very little desire for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In fact, it appears to be operating the opposite way, with the critical economic circumstances creating a greater desire to play, to try and locate a quick win, a way out of the situation.
For many of the locals subsisting on the abysmal local money, there are two established styles of gambling, the national lottery and Zimbet. As with almost everywhere else on the globe, there is a national lotto where the chances of profiting are surprisingly tiny, but then the prizes are also unbelievably high. It’s been said by economists who understand the concept that the lion’s share do not purchase a card with an actual expectation of profiting. Zimbet is based on one of the domestic or the UK soccer divisions and involves determining the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other foot, mollycoddle the considerably rich of the country and vacationers. Until a short time ago, there was a extremely big vacationing business, founded on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The market woes and associated crime have carved 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 one armed bandits, and the Plumtree Casino, which has just the slot machine games. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only slots. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which offer gaming tables, one armed bandits and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which have video poker machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the previously talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there is a total of two horse racing tracks in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has deflated by more than forty percent in recent years and with the connected deprivation and violence that has resulted, it isn’t known how well the sightseeing business which funds Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the next few years. How many of them will carry through till things get better is merely unknown.