Zimbabwe Casinos
The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the current time, so you may imagine that there might be very little affinity for visiting Zimbabwe’s casinos. In fact, it seems to be working the other way around, with the desperate market conditions creating a bigger eagerness to bet, to try and discover a quick win, a way out of the situation.
For almost all of the locals surviving on the meager local money, there are two established styles of wagering, the national lottery and Zimbet. As with practically everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lottery where the probabilities of winning are extremely small, but then the prizes are also remarkably big. It’s been said by economists who understand the situation that many do not buy a ticket with the rational belief of winning. Zimbet is based on either the domestic or the UK football divisions and involves predicting the results of future games.
Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other hand, pander to the very rich of the country and tourists. Until a short time ago, there was a very big sightseeing business, based on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and connected conflict have carved into this market.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has just the 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, the pair of which have gaming tables, slot machines and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which have gaming machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a pools system), there are also two horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has diminished by more than forty percent in recent years and with the associated poverty and violence that has come to pass, it is not well-known how well the tourist business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will carry on until things improve is simply not known.