The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the current time, so you may imagine that there would be little desire for supporting Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it seems to be working the opposite way around, with the atrocious market conditions leading to a higher eagerness to gamble, to attempt to find a fast win, a way out of the crisis.
For nearly all of the locals surviving on the abysmal local money, there are two established forms of wagering, the national lotto and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else on the globe, there is a national lotto where the chances of winning are extremely small, but then the prizes are also very large. It’s been said by financial experts who look at the situation that the lion’s share don’t purchase a card with an actual assumption of winning. Zimbet is based on one of the local or the English soccer divisions and involves determining the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, look after the very rich of the nation and tourists. Up until a short while ago, there was a very substantial tourist business, based on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated crime have carved into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has only slot machine games. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just one armed bandits. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which offer table games, slots and video machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which has video poker machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the aforementioned talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there is a total of two horse racing complexes in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has shrunk by more than 40 percent in the past few years and with the associated poverty and violence that has come to pass, it isn’t well-known how well the sightseeing business which supports Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will still be around until conditions improve is simply unknown.
