The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a gamble at the moment, so you may imagine that there might be very little appetite for visiting Zimbabwe’s casinos. Actually, it appears to be working the other way around, with the critical economic conditions leading to a larger eagerness to bet, to attempt to find a fast win, a way out of the problems.

For almost all of the citizens surviving on the abysmal local money, there are 2 popular forms of betting, the national lotto and Zimbet. Just as with almost everywhere else in the world, there is a national lotto where the odds of succeeding are extremely small, but then the prizes are also surprisingly high. It’s been said by market analysts who look at the concept that the majority don’t purchase a ticket with an actual expectation of profiting. Zimbet is founded on one of the domestic or the UK football leagues and involves determining the results of future matches.

Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other shoe, cater to the very rich of the state and tourists. Up until a short while ago, there was a incredibly large sightseeing industry, built on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The market anxiety and associated violence have cut into this market.

Among Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has five gaming tables and one armed bandits, and the Plumtree gambling hall, 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, the two of which offer gaming tables, one armed bandits and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, both of which offer video poker machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.

In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the aforestated mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is quite 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.

Since the economy has shrunk by more than 40% in recent years and with the associated deprivation and bloodshed that has cropped up, it is not known how healthy the tourist business which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling dens will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will still be around till things improve is simply unknown.