By George Keburia
June 16th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
The coronavirus pandemic reached Canada quite some time ago, resulting in thousands of deaths.
Despite the timely measures and restrictions that were introduced by the province, the deadly virus still managed to spread all across Canada. Moreover, the nation’s biggest trade partner and neighbor the United States remains the most severely affected country in the world as the number of total coronavirus infections exceeds a thumping 2 million mark.
Travel into the United States has been suspended for all except vital transportation of goods.
When talking about the impact of the global pandemic on Canada, there are many factors that should be considered. Except for the internal issues that have emerged after the lockdown, the closure of the US/Canada border has also resulted in devastating consequences for Canadian businesses. Many gambling venues along the border were highly dependent on American visitors that would visit over the weekend and spend considerable sums of money. Yet, for almost three months now, these venues have not been able to accept even the local customers.
In mid-march, the government of Canada led by the prime minister Justin Trudeau announced that due to the global pandemic, all enclosed entertainment venues would have to shut down indefinitely. This changed the country drastically over the past two and a half months. The list of affected businesses included casinos, restaurants, bars, and entertainment centers. The gambling venues ended up being one of the hardest-hit businesses in the industry. Unlike restaurants, casinos can’t deliver orders and offer takeaways.
Yet, the vast majority of gambling businesses saw an alternative in moving onto the internet. The list covered all types of venues and as of now, the number of VIP online casinos in Canada is simply tremendous. This way, venues that previously hosted thousands of visitors per day can offer similar services to those loyal customers online. Obviously, this does not tackle the problem at a large scale but most certainly helps businesses survive throughout this turbulent period.
Despite the fact that many gambling businesses found the idea of online casinos helpful, there are still some major operators that simply can not substitute huge revenues with just a mere fraction of it. Such companies had to abandon not only their active venues but also major projects underway in different parts of the country. Gateway Casinos and Entertainment is one of such businesses that now faces lots of obstacles on the way of getting back up and running.
Gateway Casinos and Entertainment evaluating the current state of legislation in Ontario amid the pandemic
‘Gateway Casinos and Entertainment’ is one of the leading operators in the industry across Canada. It owns venues all across the nation and employs hundreds of people. Overlooking the operation of this scale, the company became one of the hardest-hit businesses over the past few months. From mid-march, Gateway casinos and entertainment along with others nationwide had to take its operations to a complete standstill. The company is still unable to operate amid the ongoing restrictions.
COVID 19 put the construction of the North Bay Casino on hold
The government of Ontario has recently talked about the potential of re-opening businesses, including those that fall under the entertainment umbrella. This could mean opening up the Gateway casinos and entertainment to the public. However, there is another crucial part that comes with the process of lifting regulations. The company has its ongoing construction project in North Bay. The government has already given a green light for construction work to recommence. Yet, the company seems to be careful about spending with no casinos open at the moment.
Gateway is now trying its best to reopen its casino businesses. Without the venues up and running, it will likely have trouble financing major construction works in North Bay and beyond. Despite the government’s remarks about the possible opening of certain entertainment businesses, there are still no specific guidelines or time frames about the future of the business.
Casinos will have to adjust to the current state
Sooner or later casinos along with other entertainment venues will open to the public. This day will likely come sooner than we think but the cost of this process might be overwhelming for many businesses. With social distancing being the only effective tool for us to curb the spread of the COVID-19, everything inside of venues will have to adjust to the new reality. This will mean fewer seats and slot machines while customers will have to constantly keep the safe distance.
Patrons at the Sudbury Gateway Casino where the delight in plying the slots is evident.
The Sudbury casino by Gateway has 70 active employees that are ready to get back to work. However, as the capacity of venues will be significantly reduced, the likelihood of them all coming back is very low. There will most certainly be some spending cuts which might result in the reduction of the staff.
Without any specific guidelines or frameworks for how casinos should operate under unprecedented circumstances, the Casino Rama Resort by Gateway in Orilla is reportedly preparing to open. The Gateway representatives say that they are cooperating with the government of Ontario regarding specific venues that could potentially open first in the row.
Many ideas are being considered about how Gateway could get back to doing business actively. There were plans to expand the floor space and add a separate smoking room for the customers. Yet, the idea was scrapped as it potentially stood as a great health risk for employees.
With the total coronavirus infection number globally exceeding 7 million, many new innovative frameworks are introduced for venues to operate safely. Hopefully, Gateway will be one of such innovators in the field.
George Keburia is a commentator on the entertainment sector in Canada
