[ English ]

The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the current time, so you may think that there might be little affinity for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. Actually, it appears to be operating the other way around, with the desperate market circumstances leading to a larger desire to bet, to try and discover a quick win, a way out of the crisis.

For almost all of the locals living on the meager nearby money, there are two established forms of gaming, the national lottery and Zimbet. As with almost everywhere else on the globe, there is a state lottery where the chances of profiting are remarkably low, but then the winnings are also very big. It’s been said by market analysts who understand the situation that many don’t purchase a card with a real assumption of profiting. Zimbet is founded on either the domestic or the UK football leagues and involves predicting the outcomes of future games.

Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other hand, cater to the considerably rich of the society and tourists. Until not long ago, there was a incredibly substantial tourist business, centered on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and associated bloodshed have carved into this market.

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

In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the aforementioned mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of 2 horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.

Since the economy has deflated by more than 40% in recent years and with the connected deprivation and bloodshed that has come about, it is not well-known how well the vacationing business which supports Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will carry through till conditions improve is simply unknown.