The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the moment, so you could imagine that there might be very little desire for visiting Zimbabwe’s casinos. In reality, it seems to be functioning the opposite way around, with the critical economic conditions creating a larger eagerness to play, to try and discover a fast win, a way out of the problems.
For almost all of the locals living on the tiny nearby money, there are two dominant types of wagering, the state lotto and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the chances of hitting are extremely tiny, but then the winnings are also surprisingly large. It’s been said by financial experts who study the situation that many do not purchase a ticket with a real expectation of winning. Zimbet is founded on either the local or the British football divisions and involves determining the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other shoe, cater to the extremely rich of the nation and tourists. Up till a short while ago, there was a exceptionally big vacationing industry, founded on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The market collapse and associated conflict have cut into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree Casino, which has only slot machine games. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slot machines. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which offer gaming tables, one armed bandits and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which offer slot machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the previously alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of 2 horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the economy has diminished by more than forty percent in recent years and with the connected poverty and conflict that has arisen, it is not well-known how healthy the tourist business which funds Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will be alive till things get better is merely not known.