The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the current time, so you might think that there might be little affinity for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. Actually, it appears to be functioning the other way, with the desperate market conditions leading to a greater eagerness to wager, to attempt to find a fast win, a way out of the crisis.
For almost all of the citizens surviving on the tiny local wages, there are two popular styles of betting, the state lottery and Zimbet. As with practically everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lotto where the odds of succeeding are remarkably tiny, but then the prizes are also very large. It’s been said by market analysts who look at the concept that the majority do not purchase a ticket with a real assumption of hitting. Zimbet is built on either the domestic or the British soccer divisions and involves determining the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other foot, pamper the very rich of the society and vacationers. Up till a short time ago, there was a very substantial tourist industry, founded on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated conflict have cut into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, 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 machines. 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 two of which have gaming tables, slot machines and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the two of which offer slot machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos 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 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has shrunk by beyond 40 percent in recent years and with the connected deprivation and crime that has resulted, it is not known how healthy the sightseeing industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will carry on until things improve is simply not known.
