[
English ]
The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the current time, so you might think that there might be very little desire for visiting Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In reality, it seems to be functioning the other way around, with the awful economic circumstances leading to a greater ambition to gamble, to attempt to discover a fast win, a way from the difficulty.
For the majority of the locals subsisting on the meager local wages, there are two dominant types of wagering, the state lotto and Zimbet. As with almost everywhere else on the planet, there is a national lotto where the probabilities of profiting are extremely small, but then the prizes are also very high. It’s been said by economists who study the situation that many don’t buy a ticket with a real expectation of hitting. Zimbet is based on either the national or the UK soccer leagues and involves determining the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, cater to the astonishingly rich of the society and travelers. Up until a short time ago, there was a extremely substantial vacationing industry, built on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and associated crime have cut into this trade.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, 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 only slots. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which have table games, one armed bandits and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which has video poker machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the previously talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of two horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has deflated by beyond 40 percent in recent years and with the associated poverty and crime that has come to pass, it is not known how healthy the tourist business which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of them will carry through till conditions get better is basically unknown.
