Saratoga Casino Holdings recently experienced a significant information technology glitch that disrupted operations at its three commercial casinos. The issue arose late last week, and three days later, the company’s casinos in Colorado and Mississippi remain closed.
Based in Saratoga Springs, NY, Saratoga Casino Holdings operates several properties, including the Saratoga Casino Hotel, a horse racetrack, and a casino with 1,200 slot-like video lottery terminals and electronic table games. Additionally, the company owns Saratoga Casino Black Hawk in Colorado and Magnolia Bluffs Casino in Natchez, Mississippi. Over the weekend, Saratoga Casino Holdings confirmed on social media that an IT event had forced the temporary closure of its properties in Colorado and Mississippi.
“Our IT team has made progress on resolving the issue, and we hope to open as soon as possible,” the Saratoga Casino Black Hawk Facebook account shared. Magnolia Bluffs issued a similar message, stating, “Magnolia Bluffs will remain closed. We will continue to update you as progress is being made to resolve the issue.” As of noon on Monday, both casinos remained closed.
Despite these issues, the Saratoga Casino Hotel in New York has remained operational, though patrons expressed frustration on social media due to limited services. Rewards cards and certain promotions were disabled, leading to complaints from guests like Sharon Gates, who posted, “We just left. [The] system is still down. No free play and no points earned.”
Many patrons were not informed about the IT problems until they arrived at the property and questioned whether they would be compensated for the lack of rewards promos. While the Colorado and Mississippi casinos had issued advisories, Saratoga Casino Hotel posted on social media encouraging guests to make the most of the extra hour provided by daylight savings, saying, “That extra hour could lead to a jackpot!”
The cause of the IT issues remains undisclosed, and it’s unclear whether a hacking event is to blame. Saratoga Casino Holdings’ marketing director, Amy Brannigan, stated, “All properties were impacted in some way. Unfortunately, we have no update on a timeframe for reopening.”
Casinos have increasingly become targets for hackers and ransomware groups. Last year, major US casino operators MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment were both targeted by hackers using “social engineering” tactics to infiltrate their sensitive computer servers. MGM lost over $100 million after refusing to pay a ransom, while Caesars paid $15 million to restore its systems with minimal disruption.
