[ English ]

The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the current time, so you might envision that there might be very little affinity for going to Zimbabwe’s casinos. Actually, it seems to be working the opposite way around, with the desperate economic circumstances creating a higher desire to wager, to try and discover a fast win, a way from the difficulty.

For the majority of the citizens subsisting on the abysmal local money, there are 2 established types of betting, the national lottery and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else on the planet, there is a national lotto where the odds of profiting are unbelievably low, but then the jackpots are also unbelievably high. It’s been said by market analysts who study the idea that the majority do not buy a card with the rational assumption of profiting. Zimbet is based on either the domestic or the United Kingston soccer leagues and involves determining the outcomes of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other hand, pander to the very rich of the society and travelers. Up until a short while ago, there was a extremely big vacationing industry, built on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The market collapse and associated bloodshed have cut into this trade.

Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree gambling den, 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, the two of which offer gaming tables, slots and video machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the two of which has gaming machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.

In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the aforestated alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a pools system), there is a total of 2 horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.

Since the market has shrunk by beyond forty percent in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and conflict that has come to pass, it isn’t known how healthy the tourist business which funds Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will be alive until things get better is merely not known.