Playing the odds: The rise of soccer betting houses as a livelihood option in Harare, Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT

Betting and gambling have a long history in Zimbabwe. In the past lottery, horse racing and at times dog racing were an integral part of betting culture, especially among the employed and unemployed poor working classes. The socio-economic impacts of the crises that gripped Zimbabwe post 2000 has led to an increasing number of people turning to soccer betting as a livelihood activity. This paper focuses on an emerging and growing phenomenon of soccer-betting houses in urban Zimbabwe with a specific focus on Harare. The paper is based on participant observation of a soccer-betting house located just outside a high-density suburb in the city. The paper outlines the motivations, patterns and experiences with betting and whether supporting a particular club in Europe influences the way people bet. It also highlights the gendered dimensions of soccer-betting spaces and how soccer-betting houses are in many ways entrenching European football fandoms in Zimbabwe.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Not real name.

2. New Zimbabwe, ‘Betting takes Bulawayo by storm’, New Zimbabwe, March 16, 2015, http://www.newzimbabwe.com/news-21238-Betting+takes+Bulawayo+by+storm/news.aspx (accessed January 4, 2018).

3. Financial Gazette, ‘Zim economy turns many to gambling’, Financial Gazette, January 22, 2015, http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/zim-economy-turns-many-to-gambling/ (accessed December 5, 2017).

4. Binde, ‘Gambling Across Cultures’.

5. Church-Sanders, Online sports betting, 1.

6. Australia Sports Betting, What is sport betting? http://www.aussportsbetting.com/guide/intro/what-is-sports-betting/ (accessed January 5, 2018).

7. Godwin Muzari, ‘Soccer betting fanatics in the city’. Zimbabwe Daily, October 14, 2016, https://www.thezimbabwedaily.com/news/81937-soccer-betting-fanatics-in-the-city.html (accessed January 6, 2018).

8. Robert, ‘Towards a history of gambling in Zimbabwe’.

9. Ibid.

10. West, The Rise of an African Middle Class.

11. Lopez-Gonzalez and Griffiths, ‘Understanding the convergence of markets’.

12. Parke et al., ‘Responsible marketing and advertising’.

13. Lopez-Gonzalez and Griffiths, ‘Understanding the convergence of markets’, 2.

14. Hing et al., ‘Demographic, behavioural and normative’; and Paul and Weinbach, ‘The determinants of betting volume’.

15. Humphreys and Perez, ‘Who Bets on Sports?’; and Gainsbury et al., ‘How the Internet is Changing Gambling?’.

16. Purdie et al., Gambling and young people in Australia.

17. Zipporah Nyambura, ‘Sports betting fever grips Africa’, DW.com, February 11, 2017, http://www.dw.com/en/sports-betting-fever-grips-africa/a-37502606 (accessed December 5, 2017).

18. Ibid.

19. Techzim, ‘The business of betting and the big opportunity for Zim mobile money’, Techzim, May 24, 2016, http://www.techzim.co.zw/2016/05/betting-dominates-mobile-money-kenya-can-zimbabwe-follow-suit/(accessed December 5, 2017).

20. Griffiths, ‘Problem gambling in Europe’; Phillippe and Vallerand, ‘Prevalence rates of gambling’; and Wardle et al., British Gambling Prevalence Survey.

21. Brewer and Potenza, ‘The neurobiology and genetics of impulse control disorders’; and Volkow and Wise, ‘How can drug addiction help us understand obesity?’.

22. APA, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed).

23. Bunn, Ireland, Minton, Holman, Philpott & Chambers, ‘Shirt sponsorship by gambling companies’.

24. Lamont and Hing, ‘Sports Betting Motivations Among Young Men’.

25. Akanle and Fageyinbo, ‘European football clubs’.

26. Goffman, Where the Action Is.

27. Downes et al., Gambling, Work and Leisure, 17.

28. Devereux, Gambling and the Social Structure.

29. Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

30. Mahmoud et al., ‘The Relationship among Young Adult College Students’ Depression’.

31. Jaiyebo, ‘Women and household sustenance’, 115.

32. Jones, ‘Nothing is Straight in Zimbabwe’.

33. Chiweshe, ‘Negotiating and creating urban spaces’.

34. Cassidy, ‘A place for men to come and do their thing’.

35. Chiweshe, ‘Understanding the process of becoming a fan’.

36. Zimbabwe Demographics Profile 2018, http://www.indexmundi.com/zimbabwe/demographics_profile.html (accessed August 3, 2019).

37. In-depth interview, May 25, 2017.

38. In-depth interview, May 29, 2017.

39. Informal conversation, June 12, 2017.

40. In-depth interview, June 3, 2017.

41. In-depth interview, May 30, 2017.

42. In-depth interview, June 20, 2017.

43. Financial Gazette, ‘Zim economy turns many to gambling’, Financial Gazette, January 22, 2015, http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/zim-economy-turns-many-to-gambling/ (accessed November 23, 2017).

44. Key informant interviews, June 20, 2017.

45. In-depth interview, June 2, 2017.

46. In-depth interview, May 29, 2017.

47. In-depth interview, June 14, 2017.

48. Informal conversation, May 27, 2017.

49. In-depth interview, May 29, 2017.

50. Ates, Behavioural Finance and Sports Betting Markets.

51. Reith, The Age of Chance.

52. In-depth interview, June 7, 2017.

53. In-depth interview, June 14, 2017.

54. In-depth interview, June 2, 2017.

55. In-depth interview, May 30, 2017.

56. In-depth interview, May 30, 2017.

57. In-depth interview, June 20, 2017.

58. See: Kim, Kwon and Hyun, ‘The effects of belief in good luck’.

59. J.L. Fontaine, ‘Witchcraft belief is a curse on Africa’, The Guardian, March 1, 2012,