[ English ]

The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you could imagine that there would be very little appetite for visiting Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In fact, it appears to be working the opposite way around, with the awful economic circumstances creating a greater ambition to bet, to attempt to discover a quick win, a way from the crisis.

For many of the citizens subsisting on the tiny local wages, there are two popular styles of gambling, the state lottery and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else on the planet, there is a state lottery where the probabilities of succeeding are extremely low, but then the winnings are also remarkably large. It’s been said by market analysts who understand the idea that many do not purchase a ticket with the rational expectation of hitting. Zimbet is based on either the national or the British football divisions and involves determining the results of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other shoe, mollycoddle the incredibly rich of the country and sightseers. Up until recently, there was a exceptionally substantial sightseeing industry, centered on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and associated crime have carved into this market.

Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has just the slot machines. 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 offer table games, slots 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 gaming machines and table games.

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

Given that the market has shrunk by more than forty percent in the past few years and with the associated poverty and bloodshed that has cropped up, it is not well-known how healthy the sightseeing business which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will survive until conditions get better is basically not known.