Simon’s Guide to Gambling in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe, according to many separate sources on the internet, has 8 major brick-and-mortar gambling facilities at the time of writing, 3 of which are located in its capital, Harare. Almost all of these are operated in dedicated casino spaces of major hotels and tourist resorts.

So far, online gambling in Zimbabwe have not been relevant, due to the low internet penetration (although, according to the most recent metrics it stands on 44,3%, currently*).

The relatively low internet penetration is part of the reason that there are no Zimbabwe-based online casinos, and for a citizen of Zimbabwe, to access ones that are operated from abroad is not directly regulated, so it is practically legal.

The Lotteries and Gaming Act of Zimbabwe gives a legal definition for “game”, that is quite broad: “any game, irrespective of whether or not its result is determined by luck…”. This, above all means, that it does not make a distinction between games based merely on luck, and Poker, which is, in many countries recognized as, at least partially, a game of skill.

Therefore, gaming facilities, that have Poker tables need a legit licence to operate in Zimbabwe and some of the major casinos in the country do offer Poker to their customers.

However, online Poker, again, is not directly regulated, therefore it is considered legal. Which is well reflected in the wide range of foreign online casinos, that do accept players from Zimbabwe.

Sports betting in Zimbabwe is grown as big as to become almost a kind of national pastime over the past few years, largely, due to the huge unemployment rates (estimated, around 85-90%). Sports betting has shifted from a hobby to being a legit source of income for many in Zimbabwe.

Historically, horse betting was the most popular form of sports betting. Most of the betting was going on in Borrowdale Park, the country’s only horse racing pitch and on local greyhound races. But with the launch of Zimbet, a popular betting shop in Harehare in the mid-2000’s, the interest quickly shifted towards football.

Betting is regulated and running a betting shop requires a licence, but it is perfectly legal in possession of one,.

/Although, according to Bloomberg*, the Zimbabwean government seized to award further licenses, in an attempt to limit the surge of gambling, betting and lottery in Zimbabwe./

The number of betting sites on co.zw domains is also increasing. They accept bets on horse and greyhound racing, cricket, football etc. However, due to the low internet penetration, punters in Zimbabwe largely prefer the brick-and-mortar shops, but placing bets with foreign online bookmakers is legal – if they have acquired a license from the government. 

Unlicensed sites are not directly regulated either.

Lottery in Zimbabwe falls under the scope of the same act regulating all other forms of gambling in the country. It also regulates all “schemes or arrangements known as lotto and scratch-card“, which, more than likely, include Keno as well. The State of Zimbabwe operates a State Lottery game, since 1935 and they also offer other kinds of instant win games, scratch cards.

The regulation doesn’t specifically deal with online lottery, or online Keno, but as a Zimbabwe based online lottery site operates with a licence, it suggests, that the legal status is in fact the same. The only Zimbabwe-based online lottery platform, Africabet.co.zw was launched last year, (also has an Android app) offers types of lottery and instant win games, sports betting and also online scratch cards.

Bitcoin, to this point, has a reputation of largely being a plaything of hackers, people conducting illicit activities online and the wealthy technically inclined. Zimbabwe, with its less than 50% internet penetration and above 80% of unemployment is not a likely a country where Bitcoin gambling would be popular (although, a Zimbabwean lawyer Simba Machiridza has written a white paper* on the futuristic concept of Bitcoin being a viable alternative to the country’s current monetary framework).

The Lotteries and Gaming Act doesn’t regulate online casinos in general, and as expected, no specific word in it on Bitcoin casinos either. That means, they’re legal as long as they have a license and Bitcoin casinos not licensed in Zimbabwe specifically are not directly regulated.