Betting from the margins: gambling, respectability and the invisible incorporation of women into sports betting in Gweru, Zimbabwe 

In the bustling towns of Zimbabwe, a new kind of economy has taken root in the form of brightly colored betting shops. These establishments have become a common sight, offering a way for people to earn money in a country where formal jobs are scarce and unemployment is high. For decades, researchers and observers have noted that gambling, particularly sports betting, is an activity dominated by men. In many parts of the world, studies suggest that as betting moves online and becomes more accessible, women are starting to participate more, leading some to believe that the industry is becoming more inclusive and that the stigma around women gambling is fading away. However, this view assumes that the rules of the game are the same everywhere. It overlooks how history shapes the way men and women are expected to behave in public spaces. In Zimbabwe, the idea of what a "respectable" woman looks like was not always a fixed tradition; it was constructed over a long period by colonial powers and local leaders working together to keep women out of the public workforce and confined to the home. This paper asks a simple but difficult question: if women are betting in Zimbabwe, why are they not seen doing it in the shops where the action happens?

The researchers, Tafadzwa Blessing Choto and Manase Kudzai Chiweshe, traveled to Gweru, a city in central Zimbabwe, to find out. They did not rely on large surveys or statistics, which often miss the hidden details of people's lives. Instead, they sat down with thirteen women who were either placing bets on football matches or working inside the betting shops. Through long, open conversations, they listened to the stories of these women, asking how they started, how their families reacted, and what it felt like to be a woman in a space designed for men. The researchers wanted to understand the gap between the economic need that drives women to gamble and the social rules that tell them they should not. They were looking for the real reasons why women are part of the betting economy but remain invisible within it.

What the researchers found was a story of contradiction. On one hand, the economic situation in Zimbabwe is so tough that betting has become one of the few ways for women without money, education, or connections to earn an income. It requires no special papers or skills, making it an open door for those who have been shut out of other jobs. On the other hand, the social rules of the city are strict. A woman entering a betting shop is often seen as crossing a line. The local moral code, which was built up during the colonial era, labels such behavior as "unrespectable." In this view, a good woman stays at home, while a woman who goes to a betting shop is assumed to be looking for trouble or men, rather than looking for money. This creates a difficult situation for women who need to earn cash but want to keep their reputation intact.

To navigate this impossible choice, the women in the study developed a set of clever tactics. They do not simply stop betting; they find ways to bet without being seen. Some ask their husbands for permission, treating the act as a negotiation rather than a right. Others hide their betting completely, slipping out of the house quietly to place a wager and returning before anyone notices. Many use male friends or relatives to place the bet for them, acting as a stand-in so the woman's name and body are not present in the shop. A growing number are betting online from the safety of their living rooms, using their phones to avoid the public eye entirely. These strategies work. The women get their bets placed, and they keep their social standing. But there is a cost. By hiding, they are not changing the rules of the game; they are just finding a way to play it from the shadows.

The researchers call this phenomenon "invisible incorporation." It means that women are being absorbed into the betting economy as customers and workers, but only in a way that keeps the space itself masculine and unchanged. When a woman bets online or sends a man to do it for her, she is not challenging the idea that betting shops are for men. In fact, by avoiding the shop, she is reinforcing the idea that the shop is not a place for her. The study found that when women do enter these shops, they face harassment and judgment. They are spoken to in vulgar ways, and their presence is often interpreted as a sign of sexual availability rather than economic need. Even the women who work inside the shops, behind the counters, face similar treatment. They work long hours, often fourteen a day, and are viewed by their communities with suspicion, as if working in a place full of men makes them morally loose. Their presence behind the counter does not make the shop a welcoming place for female customers; it simply fills a job vacancy without changing the atmosphere.

This finding challenges a popular idea from Western research that suggests the rise of online gambling is "feminizing" the industry by making it safer and more acceptable for women. In Gweru, the shift to online betting does not remove the stigma; it just moves the stigma into the privacy of the home. The market is growing, and more women are participating, but the moral order that judges them has not softened. The industry is expanding its customer base without changing how it treats women. The researchers argue that this is not a sign of progress or liberation, but a commercial process where the industry reaches new people without altering the deep-seated rules that govern their lives.

The study also highlights how these tactics affect the women's lives in ways they might not expect. By staying away from the betting shops to protect their reputations, women miss out on the social connections and the shared knowledge about football that happen inside those spaces. The men who gather there learn from each other, building networks and understanding the game better, which helps them win more often. The women who bet from home or through proxies do not get this benefit. They get the chance to earn a little money, but they lose the social capital and the knowledge that could help them earn more. It is a trade-off where they gain a small economic win but lose a larger opportunity for connection and success.

Ultimately, the paper reveals that the invisibility of women in Zimbabwean betting shops is not an accident or a sign that they are not interested. It is a carefully managed response to a system that offers them a way to earn money but punishes them for taking it. The women are active and resourceful, finding ways to survive and participate in an economy that was not built for them. However, their success comes at the price of reinforcing the very barriers that keep them on the margins. They are incorporated into the system, but only as long as they remain unseen. The researchers conclude that to truly understand gambling in Africa, we cannot simply apply ideas from Europe or America. We must look at how history and local power structures shape the choices women make, and recognize that sometimes, the most effective way to survive is to stay in the shadows.