The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you might think that there might be little desire for going to Zimbabwe’s casinos. Actually, it seems to be operating the other way, with the desperate economic conditions leading to a greater desire to gamble, to attempt to locate a quick win, a way from the situation.
For many of the citizens living on the tiny nearby wages, there are two common forms of gaming, the national lotto and Zimbet. As with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a national lotto where the odds of succeeding are remarkably small, but then the prizes are also surprisingly high. It’s been said by financial experts who look at the concept that most do not purchase a card with the rational expectation of winning. Zimbet is built on either the national or the United Kingston soccer leagues and involves predicting the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other shoe, pamper the astonishingly rich of the nation and vacationers. Up until a short time ago, there was a extremely large vacationing industry, based on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and connected violence have carved into this trade.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has only slot machine games. 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 contain gaming tables, one armed bandits and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which offer gaming machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the previously alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a pools system), there are also two horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the market has contracted by beyond 40 percent in recent years and with the connected deprivation and violence that has come about, it isn’t understood how healthy the tourist business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will carry through till conditions get better is simply not known.