The entire process of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you might imagine that there would be little desire for patronizing Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In reality, it seems to be operating the other way around, with the atrocious market conditions creating a greater ambition to gamble, to attempt to discover a quick win, a way out of the difficulty.

For nearly all of the people surviving on the tiny local money, there are 2 dominant styles of gambling, the state lotto and Zimbet. As with most everywhere else in the world, there is a state lotto where the chances of succeeding are surprisingly tiny, but then the prizes are also remarkably big. It’s been said by economists who understand the concept that many don’t buy a card with an actual expectation of winning. Zimbet is built on one of the national or the English football divisions and involves predicting the results of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other foot, pander to the astonishingly rich of the country and vacationers. Up till recently, there was a very substantial tourist industry, built on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The market collapse and connected violence have cut into this trade.

Amongst Zimbabwe’s casinos, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling hall, which has just the slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just one armed bandits. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the two of which have gaming tables, one armed bandits and video machines, and Victoria Falls houses the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which offer slot machines and table games.

In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the aforementioned mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is very like a pools system), there are a total of 2 horse racing tracks in the nation: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second municipality) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.

Since the market has diminished by more than 40 percent in recent years and with the associated deprivation and conflict that has cropped up, it isn’t known how healthy the sightseeing industry which funds Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the in the years to come. How many of the casinos will carry through until things improve is basically unknown.