For most of the locals living on the meager local wages, there are two popular forms of gambling, the national lottery and Zimbet. Just as with most everywhere else in the world, there is a national lottery where the odds of winning are extremely low, but then the prizes are also extremely high. It’s been said by economists who study the subject that most do not buy a ticket in the rational expectation of winning; people understand the odds well enough. Rather, the possession of a ticket that might win that fortune acts as a pleasure in itself, dreaming about what could be done, if it did win. Zimbet is based on either the local or the UK football leagues and involves predicting the results of future matches.
Kwa zaidi ya wananchi wanaoishi katika mshahara mdogo wa ndani, kuna aina mbili maarufu wa kamari, bahati nasibu ya kitaifa na Zimbet. Tu kama wengi kila mahali pengine duniani, kuna bahati nasibu ya taifa ambapo tabia mbaya ya kushinda ni mdogo sana, lakini basi zawadi pia sana juu. It’s been alisema kwa wanauchumi wanaosoma somo kwamba wengi hawana kununua tiketi katika matumaini ya mantiki ya kushinda, watu kuelewa tabia mbaya ya kisima cha kutosha.