Cascades Casino in Chatham reopens following cyberattack

Cascades Casino in Chatham-Kent, Ont. on Wednesday May 3, 2023. The casino reopened two weeks after a ransomware cyberattack forced the gaming facility to close its doors. (Rich Garton/CTV News Windsor)

After a cybersecurity attack shut down Chatham’s Cascades Casino for two weeks, the casino official re-opened to the public Wednesday morning.

“We got a notice of ransomware. And we weren't sure but we decided to err on the side of caution. So we shut down and but you have to take these threats very, very seriously,” Robert Mitchell, Gateway Casinos director of communications, told CTV News.

The brand has been slowly re-opening its Ontario locations Chatham and Hanover opening Wednesday, along with Sarnia and Point Edward marks nine of 14 Gateway casinos back in business.

According to Mitchell, customers don’t need to fear any ramifications.

“There's no evidence that customers personal information was breached or employees or vendors for that matter. There's no evidence of that,” he said.

“The house may always win if you're a casino, but the sad fact is no organization, no matter how well-resourced, is invulnerable to this kind of event from occurring,” said tech expect, Carmi Levy, who added this is one more in a long list of big companies that have fallen prey to cyber attacks in recent months, including Sobey’s and Chapters Indigo.

“It illustrates just how devastating an attack like this can be. It illustrates why we call them business killers,” said Levy. “And the unfortunate reality is it's not going to get better going forward. It's going to get worse.”

Even if Cascades doesn’t believe data was leaked from the attack, Levy said if you’re a patron, it’s best to check your bank account for iffy financial transactions as well as attempts by others to change your password. He advises people also use different passwords for different accounts and change them regularly.

“Watch your data and watch your accounts look for strange activity that might suggest that your data that was would have been compromised in this attack is now being used in additional attacks against you,” said Levy.

The casino stands to lose millions from the shut down but the other loser is the hosting municipality.

Chatham-Kent collects about $400,000 quarterly from the Ontario Licensing and Gaming Commission.

Officials with the municipality estimate this cyber-event will also rob approximately $60,000 in potential revenue from its coffers.

“Even if you've never been to this casino, you benefit from its presence in the community and you've lost because of this attack,” said Levy.

“That's why we all have an interest in making sure that everyone around us is as secure as possible because like it or not, these events touch us all.”