The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the moment, so you could imagine that there might be little affinity for patronizing Zimbabwe’s casinos. In reality, it appears to be operating the other way around, with the desperate economic conditions leading to a bigger ambition to bet, to try and find a quick win, a way out of the problems.

For many of the people subsisting on the tiny nearby money, there are 2 dominant types of gaming, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the chances of succeeding are remarkably small, but then the prizes are also very high. It’s been said by financial experts who study the subject that many don’t purchase a ticket with the rational assumption of winning. Zimbet is founded on one of the national or the UK soccer divisions and involves predicting the results of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other shoe, cater to the considerably rich of the nation and sightseers. Up until recently, there was a very substantial tourist business, centered on nature trips and trips to Victoria Falls. The market anxiety and connected crime have carved into this trade.

Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are two in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree Casino, which has only slot machines. 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, the two of which offer gaming tables, slot machines and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which have gaming machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.

In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the aforestated talked about lottery and Zimbet (which is quite like a parimutuel betting system), there are also 2 horse racing complexes in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.

Given that the market has diminished by beyond 40% in recent years and with the connected deprivation and crime that has resulted, it is not understood how well the sightseeing business which supports Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will carry on until conditions improve is simply not known.