The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you might think that there would be very little affinity for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it appears to be operating the opposite way, with the crucial economic circumstances creating a bigger desire to play, to try and discover a fast win, a way out of the crisis.
For nearly all of the people living on the tiny local wages, there are two established types of gaming, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else in the world, there is a state lottery where the probabilities of winning are extremely low, but then the jackpots are also unbelievably high. It’s been said by market analysts who understand the subject that many don’t buy a card with a real assumption of profiting. Zimbet is built on either the local or the United Kingston soccer leagues and involves determining the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other hand, cater to the extremely rich of the society and tourists. Up until a short time ago, there was a extremely big sightseeing industry, built on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and associated conflict have carved into this trade.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree Casino, which has just the slot machine games. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just one armed bandits. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which offer gaming tables, slot machines and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which have gaming machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the previously mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a pools system), there is a total of two horse racing tracks in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the economy has contracted by more than 40% in the past few years and with the associated poverty and bloodshed that has resulted, it isn’t known how healthy the vacationing business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will carry through until things get better is simply not known.