The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you might imagine that there might be little appetite for supporting Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. Actually, it seems to be working the opposite way around, with the critical economic conditions leading to a larger ambition to bet, to try and discover a fast win, a way from the problems.
For most of the citizens surviving on the abysmal local money, there are two established types of gaming, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a national lottery where the odds of winning are surprisingly small, but then the jackpots are also unbelievably high. It’s been said by economists who understand the idea that the lion’s share do not buy a card with an actual belief of hitting. Zimbet is built on either the domestic or the British soccer divisions and involves predicting the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other foot, pander to the incredibly rich of the nation and sightseers. Until not long ago, there was a very large tourist business, based on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The market woes and associated crime have carved into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree Casino, which has just the slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only one armed bandits. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which contain table games, slot machines and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which has video poker machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the aforestated mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are also two horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Seeing as that the economy has shrunk by beyond forty percent in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and conflict that has cropped up, it isn’t known how healthy the sightseeing business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will be alive till conditions improve is simply unknown.
