Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the moment, so you could think that there would be very little affinity for visiting Zimbabwe’s casinos. In reality, it appears to be working the opposite way, with the desperate market conditions leading to a greater desire to gamble, to try and find a quick win, a way out of the situation.

For the majority of the locals living on the meager local earnings, there are two established styles of betting, the national lottery and Zimbet. Just as with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a state lottery where the probabilities of hitting are remarkably low, but then the prizes are also very large. It’s been said by economists who understand the situation that most don’t purchase a ticket with the rational expectation of winning. Zimbet is centered on either the local or the British football divisions and involves predicting the outcomes of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other hand, look after the considerably rich of the nation and tourists. Until a short time ago, there was a extremely substantial sightseeing industry, centered on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and associated crime have carved into this market.

Among Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has only slot machine games. 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, both of which contain table games, one armed bandits and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which has slot machines and tables.

In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the previously talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a pools system), there are a total of two horse racing tracks in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.

Since the economy has contracted by more than 40% in the past few years and with the connected deprivation and conflict that has resulted, it is not well-known how healthy the tourist business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of them will survive till conditions improve is merely not known.