[ English ]

The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you might envision that there might be little desire for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In fact, it seems to be operating the opposite way, with the critical market conditions leading to a higher desire to gamble, to try and find a quick win, a way from the situation.

For many of the locals living on the abysmal nearby wages, there are 2 established forms of gaming, the state lottery and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lotto where the odds of profiting are extremely small, but then the winnings are also surprisingly high. It’s been said by financial experts who look at the subject that most do not purchase a ticket with a real expectation of profiting. Zimbet is built on one of the domestic or the British soccer divisions and involves predicting the outcomes of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other shoe, mollycoddle the extremely rich of the nation and travelers. Up till recently, there was a extremely big sightseeing business, centered on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The market collapse and connected conflict have carved into this market.

Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree Casino, which has only slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slots. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which offer gaming tables, slot machines and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which have slot machines and tables.

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

Given that the economy has contracted by more than 40% in recent years and with the connected deprivation and conflict that has come about, it is not understood how well the sightseeing industry which supports Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will carry through until conditions get better is basically not known.