[ English ]

The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you may imagine that there might be very little appetite for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. Actually, it seems to be operating the opposite way around, with the crucial market conditions creating a greater desire to bet, to attempt to find a quick win, a way out of the difficulty.

For many of the citizens subsisting on the meager local money, there are two common types of wagering, the state lotto and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lotto where the probabilities of profiting are surprisingly tiny, but then the prizes are also surprisingly high. It’s been said by market analysts who study the subject that most don’t buy a card with a real assumption of profiting. Zimbet is founded on either the local or the UK soccer leagues and involves predicting the results of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other hand, pander to the exceedingly rich of the state and travelers. Up until a short while ago, there was a incredibly big sightseeing business, founded on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and connected crime have carved into this market.

Among Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree Casino, which has only slots. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slots. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, both 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 has slot machines and tables.

In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the aforementioned mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a pools system), there are a total of 2 horse racing complexes in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.

Given that the economy has contracted by beyond 40% in the past few years and with the connected poverty and conflict that has cropped up, it is not known how well the vacationing business which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will survive till conditions improve is basically not known.