The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you might think that there would be very little affinity for patronizing Zimbabwe’s casinos. In reality, it appears to be functioning the opposite way, with the awful market conditions leading to a bigger desire to wager, to attempt to find a quick win, a way from the crisis.
For nearly all of the locals living on the abysmal local money, there are two dominant styles of gaming, the national lottery and Zimbet. As with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the odds of succeeding are unbelievably low, but then the winnings are also very large. It’s been said by financial experts who understand the concept that the lion’s share don’t purchase a ticket with a real belief of hitting. Zimbet is based on either the national or the UK soccer divisions and involves predicting the outcomes of future matches.
Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other hand, mollycoddle the very rich of the society and sightseers. Until recently, there was a very substantial vacationing industry, centered on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The market anxiety and connected crime have cut into this trade.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has only slot machine games. 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, both of which contain gaming tables, one armed bandits and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the two of which have slot machines and tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling dens and the aforestated mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are also two horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Since the economy has deflated by beyond 40% in recent years and with the associated poverty and violence that has come to pass, it isn’t known how well the tourist business which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will survive until conditions get better is simply not known.
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