The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the moment, so you could think that there would be very little desire for supporting Zimbabwe’s casinos. Actually, it seems to be operating the other way, with the critical market circumstances leading to a greater desire to gamble, to try and find a fast win, a way from the problems.
For nearly all of the people subsisting on the meager local earnings, there are two established styles of wagering, the state lottery and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lotto where the chances of succeeding are extremely tiny, but then the prizes are also extremely big. It’s been said by financial experts who understand the situation that many don’t purchase a ticket with a real assumption of hitting. Zimbet is built on one of the national or the UK soccer divisions and involves predicting the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other shoe, pander to the exceedingly rich of the nation and tourists. Up until recently, there was a incredibly big vacationing industry, built on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated crime have carved into this trade.
Among Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has only slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only one armed bandits. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which contain table games, slots and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which offer gaming machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the previously alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are also two horse racing tracks in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has deflated by more than forty percent in the past few years and with the associated poverty and conflict that has arisen, it is not well-known how well the vacationing business which funds Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will carry through until conditions improve is merely unknown.