The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you could imagine that there might be very little desire for supporting Zimbabwe’s casinos. In fact, it appears to be operating the other way, with the crucial market circumstances creating a higher desire to play, to attempt to find a quick win, a way out of the situation.

For most of the locals subsisting on the meager nearby money, there are 2 established forms of betting, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the probabilities of winning are extremely tiny, but then the winnings are also surprisingly high. It’s been said by economists who understand the situation that the majority do not purchase a ticket with an actual expectation of hitting. Zimbet is based on either the national or the English soccer divisions and involves predicting the outcomes of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, mollycoddle the extremely rich of the nation and sightseers. Up until a short while ago, there was a very big sightseeing business, centered on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The market woes and associated violence have cut into this market.

Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are two 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 machine games. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has only slot machines. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which have gaming tables, slot machines and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which have slot machines and tables.

In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the aforementioned mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are also 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 deflated by more than 40 percent in the past few years and with the associated deprivation and violence that has cropped up, it is not understood how well the tourist industry which supports Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of them will carry through till conditions improve is merely not known.