The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the current time, so you could envision that there might be little desire for supporting Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In reality, it seems to be working the other way, with the critical economic circumstances leading to a higher eagerness to play, to try and locate a quick win, a way out of the crisis.
For many of the locals subsisting on the meager local earnings, there are two popular styles of wagering, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lottery where the odds of succeeding are extremely small, but then the winnings are also remarkably large. It’s been said by financial experts who understand the subject that many don’t purchase a ticket with the rational expectation of profiting. Zimbet is based on one of the domestic or the UK soccer leagues and involves predicting the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other foot, cater to the very rich of the society and vacationers. Up till a short while ago, there was a very large vacationing business, based on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and connected violence have cut into this market.
Among Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, 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 machine games. 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 pair of which have table games, one armed bandits and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which offer gaming machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there is a total of 2 horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has contracted by more than forty percent in recent years and with the connected poverty and crime that has resulted, it is not well-known how healthy the tourist industry which funds Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will carry through until conditions get better is basically unknown.
March 3rd, 2019
Francesca
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