[ English ]

The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the current time, so you could think that there would be little desire for visiting Zimbabwe’s casinos. In fact, it appears to be operating the opposite way around, with the atrocious market circumstances leading to a bigger ambition to gamble, to attempt to discover a quick win, a way from the crisis.

For almost all of the citizens subsisting on the tiny nearby wages, there are 2 dominant styles of gaming, the state lotto and Zimbet. As with practically everywhere else on the globe, there is a national lotto where the chances of hitting are extremely tiny, but then the jackpots are also very big. It’s been said by market analysts who understand the situation that the majority do not purchase a ticket with the rational expectation of hitting. Zimbet is based on either the national or the British football leagues and involves determining the results of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other foot, mollycoddle the astonishingly rich of the country and tourists. Until not long ago, there was a extremely substantial tourist business, founded on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The market woes and connected conflict have carved into this market.

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 only slots. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which have gaming tables, one armed bandits and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which have slot machines and table games.

In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the previously mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are also two horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.

Seeing as that the market has diminished by more than 40 percent in recent years and with the connected deprivation and conflict that has come about, it is not understood how healthy the vacationing industry which funds Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will carry through until conditions improve is simply unknown.