The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you might imagine that there might be very little desire for supporting Zimbabwe’s casinos. In fact, it appears to be operating the opposite way around, with the desperate economic circumstances leading to a higher ambition to play, to attempt to locate a fast win, a way from the difficulty.
For many of the citizens living on the tiny nearby wages, there are 2 popular types of gaming, the state lottery and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lottery where the chances of hitting are surprisingly tiny, but then the prizes are also very big. It’s been said by financial experts who understand the idea that many do not purchase a ticket with the rational expectation of profiting. Zimbet is based on one of the national or the English soccer divisions and involves predicting the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other foot, mollycoddle the very rich of the nation and vacationers. Up until not long ago, there was a considerably substantial sightseeing industry, built on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and connected violence have cut into this trade.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, 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 slots. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which offer gaming tables, 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 have slot machines and table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of 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 diminished by more than 40% in the past few years and with the associated poverty and bloodshed that has resulted, it isn’t understood how healthy the sightseeing business which supports Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will carry through until things get better is simply not known.