The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the current time, so you might envision that there would be little affinity for patronizing Zimbabwe’s casinos. In reality, it seems to be working the opposite way, with the awful economic conditions creating a greater desire to gamble, to attempt to discover a fast win, a way out of the crisis.
For most of the locals surviving on the abysmal local money, there are 2 popular types of betting, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lotto where the probabilities of profiting are surprisingly small, but then the prizes are also surprisingly big. It’s been said by economists who understand the situation that most don’t purchase a ticket with the rational expectation of profiting. Zimbet is based on one of the domestic or the British football leagues and involves determining the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other foot, pander to the very rich of the nation and sightseers. Up until a short while ago, there was a incredibly big vacationing business, built on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The market collapse and associated bloodshed have cut into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling hall, 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 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 table games.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the aforestated mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a pools system), there are also 2 horse racing complexes in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the market has deflated by more than 40 percent in the past few years and with the associated poverty and violence that has arisen, it isn’t well-known how well the vacationing industry which funds Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the in the years to come. How many of them will still be around until conditions get better is basically unknown.