The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you could envision that there would be very little affinity for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it seems to be working the opposite way around, with the atrocious economic conditions creating a larger ambition to gamble, to try and locate a fast win, a way from the problems.
For most of the people surviving on the abysmal local wages, there are 2 established types of wagering, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with almost everywhere else on the globe, there is a state lottery where the odds of succeeding are extremely low, but then the winnings are also unbelievably large. It’s been said by market analysts who study the subject that most do not buy a card with a real belief of hitting. Zimbet is based on one of the national or the UK football divisions and involves determining the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other shoe, pander to the very rich of the society and sightseers. Until recently, there was a incredibly big sightseeing business, built on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated bloodshed have carved into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree Casino, which has only slot machine games. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just one armed bandits. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which contain gaming tables, one armed bandits and video machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which have gaming machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the previously alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of 2 horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Seeing as that the economy has shrunk by beyond forty percent 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 near future. How many of them will be alive until things improve is simply not known.