The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the current time, so you might imagine that there might be very little affinity for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In fact, it seems to be operating the opposite way around, with the awful market conditions creating a bigger desire to gamble, to attempt to locate a quick win, a way out of the problems.
For almost all of the citizens subsisting on the tiny local wages, there are two established forms of gambling, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else on the planet, there is a national lotto where the odds of succeeding are surprisingly low, but then the winnings are also very high. It’s been said by market analysts who study the situation that the majority don’t buy a ticket with a real expectation of hitting. Zimbet is centered on either the local or the British football leagues and involves predicting the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other hand, cater to the very rich of the state and travelers. Up till recently, there was a very big tourist business, centered on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and connected violence have carved into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are 2 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 slots. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only slot machines. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both of which contain gaming tables, one armed bandits and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the two of which has gaming machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the previously mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a pools system), there are a total of two horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the market has deflated by beyond 40% in recent years and with the associated poverty and bloodshed that has come about, it is not understood how healthy the vacationing business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will survive till conditions get better is merely not known.