The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the moment, so you may think that there might be little appetite for visiting Zimbabwe’s casinos. Actually, it seems to be working the other way around, with the atrocious market circumstances leading to a greater eagerness to play, to try and find a quick win, a way out of the situation.
For almost all of the citizens living on the abysmal local money, there are two dominant forms of wagering, the state lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else in the world, there is a national lottery where the chances of hitting are remarkably tiny, but then the jackpots are also surprisingly high. It’s been said by economists who look at the situation that the majority do not purchase a card with the rational assumption of profiting. Zimbet is built on one of the domestic or the British football divisions and involves predicting the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other hand, cater to the very rich of the nation and sightseers. Until recently, there was a incredibly substantial tourist business, built on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and connected 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 one armed bandits, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has just the 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 two of which have 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, both of which offer video poker machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there is a total of two horse racing tracks in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the market has contracted by more than 40 percent in the past few years and with the connected deprivation and crime that has resulted, it is not well-known how well the tourist business which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will be alive till things improve is merely not known.
