The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a risk at the moment, so you may envision that there might be little desire for going to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls. In reality, it appears to be operating the other way, with the awful economic circumstances leading to a bigger desire to gamble, to try and find a quick win, a way from the crisis.

For nearly all of the people surviving on the abysmal local money, there are 2 common styles of gambling, the state lottery and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else on the planet, there is a national lotto where the chances of winning are remarkably low, but then the prizes are also remarkably large. It’s been said by economists who look at the situation that many don’t buy a ticket with the rational assumption of winning. Zimbet is founded on one of the local or the UK soccer leagues and involves predicting the results of future games.

Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, on the other shoe, pander to the incredibly rich of the state and travelers. Until a short time ago, there was a incredibly large tourist industry, based on nature trips and visits to Victoria Falls. The economic anxiety and associated conflict have carved into this market.

Among Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slot machines, and the Plumtree Casino, which has only slot machine games. 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 pair 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, each of which offer slot machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.

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

Given that the economy has shrunk by beyond 40% in recent years and with the connected poverty and conflict that has come about, it is not understood how well the tourist business which funds Zimbabwe’s gambling halls will do in the near future. How many of the casinos will survive till things improve is simply unknown.