All 14 Ontario casinos operated by Gateway Casinos and Entertainment reman closed today due to a cyber attack on the weekend.
A statement issued by the company on Monday night said the properties will remain closed “in the coming days as we work to restore our IT systems.” The statement said Gateway detected a “cyber security incident” on the weekend that led to the mass closures.
“We have retained third-party cyber professionals who are working 24/7 to help us restore the IT environment. Our upmost concern is the protection of personal data and information. At this point, we do not have any information indicating that this incident involves any compromise of personal data. However, we are in the process of notifying the relevant privacy officials and [the] gaming regulator of the incident.”
Gateway’s Ontario properties closed at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The company’s 15 properties in British Columbia and two casinos in Alberta remain open and were unaffected by the cyber attack.
Friday and Saturday concerts at Casino Rama postponed
Gateway’s flagship casino in Ontario is Casino Rama in Orillia. It is one of the largest Ontario casinos.
On Wednesday, Casino Rama announced that both Friday’s Chris de Burgh concert and Saturday’s Warrant, Quiet Riot and Helix concert were postponed due to the cyber attack.
The de Burgh concert has been rescheduled until April 27. The Warrant, Quiet Riot and Helix concert does not, yet, have a new date.
“At this time, we do not expect changes to any concerts scheduled for after April 22,” said a release from the casino.
Tickets will be valid for the rescheduled date for customers who already purchased seats for the postponed shows through Ticketmaster or My Club Rewards.
The casino says those unable to make the new dates can request a refund from the original point of sale.
Union representing Casino Rama workers is concerned
Unifor Local 1090 represents Casino Rama’s unionized workers.
A internal memo obtained by OrilliaMatters said the union is concerned about the security breach.
“It is the union’s position that Gateway take appropriate action to protect our members from any potential impact from this breach whether information has been taken or not,” said the memo.
The memo also said the Gateway “will continue to cancel shifts on a shift-by-shift basis until their systems are back up.”
Casino Rama victim of a 2016 cyber attack, as well
Between 2004 and 2016, an anonymous hacker allegedly breached Casino Rama’s computer systems. At that time, the casino was operated by Penn National Gaming (now Penn Entertainment) on behalf of its owners, the Chippewas of Rama First Nation and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
Gateway took over operation of Casino Rama in July 2018.
That earlier attack saw sensitive data comprised for between 10,000 and 11,000 customers, employees and vendors, said the casino. Lawyers representing plaintiffs in a $60 million class action lawsuit against the casino said the number of people affected might be as high as 200,000. In May of 2019, the Ontario Superior Court declined to certify a class action against Casino Rama
Gateway’s Ontario properties
Casino Rama first opened on July 31, 1996.
Gateway Casinos, based in Burnaby, BC, is one of the largest gambling companies in Canada. The private company is controlled by the Catalyst Capital Group, a Canadian private equity investment firm.
Gateway’s newest casino opened in Wasaga Beach in November of 2022.
In Ontario, Gateway operates the following casinos:
- Casino Rama Resort
- Gateway Casinos — Innisfil
- Playtime Casino — Wasaga Beach
- Gateway Casinos — Clinton
- Cascades Casino — Chatham
- Gateway Casinos — London
- Starlight Casino — Point Edward
- Gateway Casinos — Sarnia
- Gateway Casinos — Woodstock
- Cascades Casinos — North Bay
- Gateway Casinos — Sault Ste Marie
- Playtime Casino — Hanover
- Gateway Casinos — Sudbury
- Gateway Casinos — Thunder Bay
