[ English ]

The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the current time, so you could imagine that there might be little desire for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In fact, it appears to be operating the other way around, with the critical economic conditions leading to a greater ambition to bet, to try and locate a fast win, a way from the situation.

For the majority of the locals subsisting on the tiny local money, there are 2 dominant types of gambling, the state lotto and Zimbet. Just as with almost everywhere else on the globe, there is a state lotto where the chances of profiting are unbelievably low, but then the winnings are also surprisingly large. It’s been said by financial experts who understand the situation that the majority do not purchase a ticket with a real expectation of hitting. Zimbet is built on either the national or the UK soccer leagues and involves predicting the results of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other foot, pander to the incredibly rich of the society and tourists. Up till recently, there was a considerably big vacationing business, centered on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated crime have cut into this market.

Among Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree Casino, which has just the slot machine games. 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, both of which offer gaming tables, slots and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which offer gaming machines and tables.

In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the aforestated talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a pools system), there is a total of 2 horse racing tracks in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) 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 deprivation and crime that has resulted, it is not known how healthy the sightseeing business which funds Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will carry on until things improve is merely unknown.