Gambling has quietly become a crisis in Zimbabwe. What was once considered a pastime for men has now spread significantly to women. Betting shops are no longer filled with men only. Increasingly, women are standing at the counters or sometimes glued to mobile betting apps. The shift is deeply concerning.
The evidence that gambling has become a growing problem is captured powerfully in a documentary published by Tonderai Zvimba titled ‘The rise of female gamblers in Zimbabwe’. The documentary shows women openly testifying that they have invested heavily in gambling. Some recount moments of winning large sums of money. Others speak about losing savings yet continuing to return. Several women admit that they have become single or faced serious marital strain because of betting. Still, they go back.
One particularly tragic account in the documentary highlights a man who reportedly took his life after losing substantial amounts of money to a fast-paced betting game locally known as Kandenge (Aviator). The documentary also features other popular games such as UK Lunch, Chindege, Kasongo, Crash, and Lucky O, all of which promise quick returns and instant results.
When asked whether she wishes to stop gambling, one woman responds that there was a time she tried to quit but she always finds herself returning to the betting houses. After winning and losing, she attempts to requite her losses, only to lose even more. This pattern is not simply poor financial planning. It mirrors what psychologists describe as loss-chasing, a core symptom of gambling disorder.
The World Health Organisation recognises gambling disorder in the ICD-11 as a behavioural addiction that shares core characteristics with substance addictions such as alcohol or drugs. Similarly, the American Psychiatric Association defines gambling disorder as persistent and recurrent problematic gambling behaviour leading to significant practical impairment or distress.
Studies have shown that when someone indulges in gambling particularly in fast , high-uncertainty games such as crush or aviator-type platforms the brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to reward.
Dopamine is not released only when someone wins. It spikes during anticipation and near misses. The brain becomes trained to expect reward, even after repeated losses.
Neuroscientists such as Kent Berridge and Terry Robinson in their work on ‘Incentive Sensitisation Theory’ have shown that addictive behaviours shift the brain’s motivation system so that the “wanting” of the activity overrides the “liking” of it.
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The person is not gambling because it feels good but their brain has been conditioned to chase the next rush or the relief from craving. This explains why some women in the documentary admit they know they are losing money yet cannot stay away.
While comprehensive gender specific national statistics are still limited, several Zimbabwean academic and media reports indicate a sharp rise in gambling over the past decade, especially among youth and urban populations. Studies examining gambling behaviour in Harare have found that young adults between 18 and 35 are the most active participants. This is the age when individuals are financially vulnerable and seeking independence to meet societal expectations.
Gambling addiction continues to proliferate due to its profitability to corporations who really do not care about people’s health. They are in it for money’s sake. These corporations have made betting highly accessible through betting shops in urban centres, mobile betting platforms requiring only a smartphone and minimal data as well as aggressive advertising through social media.
Gambling varies across geography. Those in rural areas with limited internet coverage and fewer betting outlets are less exposed. Apart from good marketing, gambling thrives where there is connectivity and proximity.
Economic vulnerability is another variation where individuals with little disposable income are often drawn to gambling because they feel they have little to lose yet in reality they lose relatively more. This also relates to unemployment and unstable income increases susceptibility in economies facing hardship.
It should not surprise us that Zimbabwe is facing this crisis. Gambling exists globally. In the United States, online sports betting has expanded rapidly following legalisation in many states. In the United Kingdom gambling harm has been recognised as a public health issue. Gambling does not discriminate between the first world and developing nations. What differs is the regulation and support systems.
Gambling is difficult to stop due to several reasons. First, betting is legal in Zimbabwe. People are not coerced into betting, they enter voluntarily. This makes regulation politically sensitive.
At the same time, it is a highly profitable industry. Betting companies design their algorithms and odds to ensure long term house advantage. Easy predictions pay very little whilst high payouts require extremely risky, low-probability outcomes. Hence, the company always wins more than it loses.
Some individuals do win and their stories circulate widely, fueling participation and reinforcing optimism bias, the belief that “l could be next.”
Betting companies use celebrities and social media to normalise gambling, making it persuasive to economically vulnerable individuals who see it as a possible financial breakthrough.
Poor individuals are often more vulnerable because gambling offers an illusion of upward mobility. It becomes framed not as entertainment, but as a strategy for survival. It is important, however, not to reduce the issue to simple blame of “big capital” alone. While betting companies operate for profit, addiction is a complex interaction between corporate design, economic vulnerability, brain chemistry, and individual psychology.
The human cost is now rampant in women who carry disproportionate responsibility for household survival. When they gamble and lose the impact extends to children, school fees, groceries, rent not to mention marriages that have collapsed. Some women in the documentary described cycles of shame and secrecy. The tragedy is not just financial. It is emotional and relational.
However, we must avoid exaggeration. Not every gambler is addicted. Not every betting shop visitor will spiral into disorder. Addiction develops when gambling becomes persistent and uncontrollable.
A public health approach is needed to address gambling addiction. Instead of treating it as a moral failure, it should be recognised as a health and social issue. This requires public education about psychological traps like loss-chasing, accessible mental health support, stronger consumer protections, and economic empowerment initiatives. The rise in women’s gambling reflects deeper social pressures, financial hardships, limited opportunities and the search for stability in uncertain times.
If Zimbabwe is confronting drug addiction , it must also confront behavioural addiction. Gambling may look voluntary on the surface. But for many, especially vulnerable women, the choice to continue is no longer fully free, it is shaped by brain circuitry, economic desperation and systems designed to profit from risk.
Our concern should not be whether gambling will disappear because it will not. The goal is to respond early enough to prevent more lives, marriages and futures from being consumed.
