The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the current time, so you might envision that there would be little affinity for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In fact, it appears to be operating the other way around, with the atrocious market circumstances leading to a bigger eagerness to play, to try and discover a quick win, a way from the crisis.

For almost all of the citizens surviving on the meager local earnings, there are two established forms of betting, the national lottery and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else on the globe, there is a state lotto where the odds of profiting are surprisingly small, but then the jackpots are also surprisingly big. It’s been said by economists who understand the situation that many don’t buy a card with an actual belief of hitting. Zimbet is founded on one of the national or the British soccer leagues and involves determining the outcomes of future games.

Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, pamper the very rich of the country and sightseers. Up until a short time ago, there was a extremely large sightseeing industry, built on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic collapse and associated crime have cut into this market.

Among Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and one armed bandits, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has just the slot machines. 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, the two of which offer table games, slots and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, each of which have slot machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.

In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the above talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are also two horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.

Given that the market has diminished by beyond 40% in recent years and with the associated deprivation and violence that has cropped up, it isn’t understood how healthy the tourist industry which funds Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the near future. How many of them will carry on until conditions improve is merely unknown.