The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the moment, so you might imagine that there would be little desire for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In reality, it seems to be operating the other way, with the atrocious market circumstances creating a bigger ambition to gamble, to try and find a quick win, a way out of the problems.
For the majority of the locals subsisting on the abysmal local earnings, there are two established forms of gambling, the national lotto and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the odds of winning are remarkably small, but then the jackpots are also very big. It’s been said by financial experts who understand the subject that the majority do not buy a ticket with a real assumption of winning. Zimbet is based on either the national or the UK soccer divisions and involves predicting the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, pamper the very rich of the state and tourists. Until recently, there was a extremely substantial sightseeing industry, based on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and connected crime 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 just the slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slots. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both 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, both of which has slot machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the previously alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are also 2 horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Seeing as that the market has diminished by more than 40 percent in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and crime that has come to pass, it isn’t known how healthy the sightseeing industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of them will still be around until things improve is simply not known.