The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you could imagine that there would be little affinity for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it seems to be working the other way around, with the crucial market conditions creating a greater eagerness to wager, to attempt to locate a fast win, a way out of the situation.
For most of the people living on the abysmal local wages, there are 2 popular forms of gaming, the state lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else in the world, there is a national lottery where the probabilities of hitting are remarkably tiny, but then the jackpots are also surprisingly high. It’s been said by market analysts who look at the concept that the majority don’t buy a ticket with an actual belief of hitting. Zimbet is centered on one of the national or the British soccer leagues and involves predicting the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other foot, pamper the very rich of the nation and travelers. Up until a short while ago, there was a very big sightseeing business, based on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated crime have cut into this trade.
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 gambling den, which has just the slots. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only slots. Mutare contains 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 has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which have video poker machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the aforestated mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of two horse racing tracks in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the market has contracted by beyond 40% in recent years and with the connected deprivation and crime that has arisen, it is not known how healthy the vacationing industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will carry through till things improve is merely not known.