The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you might envision that there would be very little affinity for visiting Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In fact, it seems to be operating the opposite way, with the desperate economic conditions creating a larger ambition to play, to try and locate a fast win, a way from the problems.
For many of the citizens surviving on the abysmal local wages, there are two common types of betting, the state lottery and Zimbet. As with practically everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lotto where the chances of succeeding are remarkably small, but then the jackpots are also remarkably high. It’s been said by economists who look at the concept that most do not purchase a card with a real belief of hitting. Zimbet is centered on either the local or the English football divisions and involves determining the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other shoe, mollycoddle the astonishingly rich of the state and tourists. Up till a short while ago, there was a extremely big vacationing business, centered on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The market collapse and connected bloodshed have cut into this market.
Among 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 gambling den, which has only slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slots. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which offer table games, 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 blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the aforestated mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of 2 horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has contracted by more than 40 percent in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and conflict that has resulted, it is not understood how healthy the tourist industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the near future. How many of them will carry on till things improve is simply not known.