[ English ]

The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the current time, so you could think that there would be little appetite for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In reality, it seems to be operating the other way around, with the critical economic conditions creating a greater ambition to wager, to try and find a quick win, a way from the difficulty.

For almost all of the citizens subsisting on the abysmal local earnings, there are two dominant types of betting, the national lottery and Zimbet. As with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a state lottery where the chances of succeeding are remarkably tiny, but then the prizes are also very big. It’s been said by economists who study the subject that many don’t purchase a card with an actual belief of hitting. Zimbet is based on either the local or the British soccer divisions and involves predicting the outcomes of future games.

Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other foot, look after the considerably rich of the nation and tourists. Until recently, there was a exceptionally substantial sightseeing business, based on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and connected conflict have cut into this trade.

Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and one armed bandits, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has only slots. 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 table games, slots and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which have slot machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.

In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the aforementioned alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of two horse racing complexes in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.

Since the economy has contracted by more than forty percent in the past few years and with the connected poverty and crime that has come about, it isn’t understood how healthy the sightseeing industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the near future. How many of them will still be around until things get better is merely unknown.