The prospect of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the moment, so you could envision that there would be little affinity for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In reality, it appears to be working the other way, with the atrocious market conditions leading to a bigger eagerness to play, to try and find a quick win, a way out of the problems.

For the majority of the locals subsisting on the meager nearby wages, there are 2 dominant types of gambling, the state lotto and Zimbet. As with practically everywhere else in the world, there is a national lottery where the probabilities of winning are unbelievably tiny, but then the winnings are also unbelievably big. It’s been said by economists who understand the concept that many do not buy a card with the rational assumption of winning. Zimbet is founded on either the local or the UK football leagues and involves determining the outcomes of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, cater to the exceedingly rich of the state and vacationers. Up till a short time ago, there was a extremely substantial tourist industry, founded on safaris and visits to Victoria Falls. The market woes and connected bloodshed have cut into this trade.

Amongst 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 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 contain gaming tables, slot machines and electronic poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the two of which have gaming machines and tables.

In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the previously talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a parimutuel betting system), there are a total of 2 horse racing tracks in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.

Given that the economy has diminished by more than 40 percent in recent years and with the associated poverty and crime that has come to pass, it isn’t known how well the tourist business which supports Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will still be around until conditions improve is simply unknown.