Finally, some good news for gambling enthusiasts in Ontario, after the region was moved from the grey tier to the red tier by the provincial government. Meaning that some businesses that were recently closed have received the green light to restart operations. Of course, each reopening enterprise must follow the implemented safety measures, in order to protect staff and visitors.

The has also been the case with Gateway Casinos which recently made an official announcement regarding the operational status of its gambling venues in the Ontario province. This was possible due to the government lifting the lockdown rules in the area, meaning that players will be able to finally visit land-based casinos imminently.

Official Update

Due to the uplift of the lockdown in Ontario, the gaming corporation provided information regarding the status of its casinos. Starting from Wednesday three gambling venues will reopen in Northern Ontario: Gateway Casinos Sudbury, Gateway Casinos Sault Ste. Marie, and Gateway Casinos Thunder Bay. Gateway Casinos Sudbury will launch with 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. working hours, and the other two properties will be operational from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. on a daily basis. Thunder Bay will also have a limited capacity of 10 guests at a time.

Tuesday saw the reopening of seven of the company’s casinos in southern Ontario – Gateway Casinos Sarnia, Starlight Casino Point Edward, Cascades Casino Chatham, Gateway Casinos London, Gateway Casinos Woodstock, Gateway Casinos Clinton, and Playtime Casino Hanover now being available for visitors. Also, all properties will be working under a reservation system that was used in the previous reopening in October 2020. There is a 50-guest capacity, but only members of the My Club Rewards will be invited.

Still Closed

Only two gambling venues of the company will remain closed for the time being, despite being now in the red tier of the government’s-colored framework. Casino Rama and Gateway Casinos Innisfil remain the only two gaming premises that will not open doors even after the lockdown had been lifted on Tuesday in most of Ontario.

Casino Rama is the biggest tribal casino in the province and it has been shut down from March 2020 and has not been reopened since. But according to health officials, its opening will be dangerous due to the size of the resort and the proposed 50-guest capacity. However, the gaming regulator is hopeful that Innisfil casino will be opened shortly.

Shorelines Casinos

After not being able to step foot in brick-and-mortar casinos for a few months, Ontario residents will be even more glad to hear that Great Canadian Gaming’s latest update. The Crown agency announced that it will be reopening three of its casinos after lockdown has been lifted in Ontario. Shorelines Casino Peterborough, Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands, and Shoreline Slots at Kawartha will be operating again starting from February 16, 2021.

New Brunswick

The Crown corporation also had the nod to restart operation at Casino New Brunswick which also opened after recent lockdown changes, this became reality on February 12, 2021. It must be noted that all visitors should be wearing protective measures corresponding to the government’s requirements. Additionally implemented safety measure will be a  players capacity to be limited to 50 at a time.

Source: Papineau, Chelsea “Casinos in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie set to reopen Wednesday”, CTV News, February 16, 2021