The act of living in Zimbabwe is something of a risk at the moment, so you could imagine that there might be little affinity for visiting Zimbabwe’s gambling dens. In fact, it seems to be functioning the other way around, with the atrocious economic circumstances creating a greater eagerness to bet, to attempt to discover a quick win, a way out of the difficulty.

For many of the people living on the tiny local earnings, there are two common types of wagering, the state lottery and Zimbet. Just as with practically everywhere else on the globe, there is a state lottery where the chances of profiting are surprisingly small, but then the jackpots are also very high. It’s been said by financial experts who understand the idea that most do not buy a ticket with the rational belief of hitting. Zimbet is based on one of the local or the English football divisions and involves determining the results of future games.

Zimbabwe’s casinos, on the other shoe, pamper the extremely rich of the society and tourists. Up till a short time ago, there was a extremely substantial tourist business, based on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated conflict have cut into this trade.

Amongst 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 machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slots. Mutare has the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which offer table games, one armed bandits and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which offer slot machines and tables.

In addition to Zimbabwe’s casinos and the above mentioned lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a pools system), there is a total of 2 horse racing tracks in the state: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the 2nd city) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.

Given that the market has contracted by beyond forty percent in recent years and with the associated poverty and violence that has resulted, it is not understood how well the tourist industry which is the foundation for Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the next few years. How many of the casinos will be alive till conditions improve is basically not known.