The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the moment, so you could imagine that there would be little affinity for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. Actually, it seems to be working the opposite way around, with the awful economic conditions creating a bigger desire to gamble, to attempt to find a quick win, a way from the difficulty.
For nearly all of the citizens subsisting on the meager local earnings, there are 2 common forms of betting, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else on the globe, there is a national lotto where the probabilities of profiting are remarkably small, but then the winnings are also unbelievably high. It’s been said by economists who look at the concept that most do not purchase a ticket with an actual assumption of winning. Zimbet is based on one of the local or the English football leagues and involves predicting the results of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, mollycoddle the astonishingly rich of the nation and sightseers. Up till a short time ago, there was a very substantial sightseeing business, centered on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and associated bloodshed have carved into this trade.
Among Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has just the slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only one armed bandits. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which have table games, slot machines and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which has gaming machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the above talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a parimutuel betting system), there are also 2 horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the market has shrunk by beyond 40% in the past few years and with the connected deprivation and violence that has come to pass, it isn’t known how well the sightseeing business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will carry on till things get better is simply unknown.
