The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the current time, so you could imagine that there might be very little appetite for patronizing Zimbabwe’s casinos. In reality, it seems to be operating the opposite way, with the desperate market conditions creating a bigger desire to gamble, to try and locate a quick win, a way from the problems.

For most of the locals subsisting on the tiny nearby wages, there are two common forms of betting, the state lotto and Zimbet. Just as with almost everywhere else on the planet, there is a national lottery where the probabilities of profiting are remarkably tiny, but then the winnings are also extremely big. It’s been said by economists who look at the concept that many do not buy a card with a real expectation of profiting. Zimbet is centered on one of the domestic or the British football leagues and involves predicting the outcomes of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other hand, look after the astonishingly rich of the nation and tourists. Up until a short while ago, there was a considerably large tourist industry, centered on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and connected conflict have carved into this market.

Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree Casino, which has only slots. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slot machines. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which contain 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 have video poker machines and table games.

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

Since the economy has shrunk by more than 40% in recent years and with the associated poverty and bloodshed that has come about, it isn’t well-known how healthy the tourist industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the in the years to come. How many of them will be alive till conditions improve is basically unknown.