[ English ]

The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the moment, so you might imagine that there would be little appetite for visiting Zimbabwe’s casinos. Actually, it appears to be working the other way around, with the awful economic circumstances creating a larger desire to bet, to try and find a quick win, a way from the problems.

For most of the locals subsisting on the abysmal local money, there are 2 common types of betting, the national lottery and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else on the planet, there is a national lotto where the probabilities of profiting are extremely low, but then the prizes are also surprisingly large. It’s been said by market analysts who look at the idea that most do not buy a card with a real expectation of winning. Zimbet is centered on either the national or the UK football divisions and involves predicting the outcomes of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other foot, look after the considerably rich of the country and travelers. Up till not long ago, there was a exceptionally substantial tourist business, based on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and connected crime have carved into this trade.

Among Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 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 one armed bandits. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which have gaming tables, slot machines and video 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 halls and the aforementioned mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a pools system), there are a total of 2 horse racing tracks in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.

Given that the economy has diminished by beyond 40 percent in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and bloodshed that has come about, it is not understood how healthy the vacationing industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will survive until conditions get better is simply not known.