Casino company loaned $200 million in relief funding

Sep 28, 2020 | 10:54 AM

Gateway Casinos is being loaned $200 million from the federal government in COVID-19 relief funding.

The Burnaby-based company said it will use $60 million it has taken so far, to rehire employees so it can reopen in accordance with local and provincial health guidelines.

Gateway owns Playtime Casino in Kelowna and Lake City Casinos in Vernon.

The funding comes from the Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corp. (CEEFC), the first loan under the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility.

“LEEFF is intended to provide bridge financing to Canada’s largest employers, whose needs during the pandemic are not being met through conventional financing. It provides large Canadian employers with access to credit in order to preserve jobs and continue operations during this challenging period,” a news release from the federal government said.

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Casinos in B.C. closed when the pandemic started and have not reopened.

“COVID-19 closed businesses across Canada, with the hospitality and entertainment sectors severely affected. It hit our employees and their families and communities hard. The LEEFF financing will support restarting our operations and returning people to work when it is safe and viable to do so. We are appreciative of the LEEFF program and, through a successful and sustainable restart of operations, we will bring jobs back and begin the work of repaying the LEEFF facility, said Anthony Santo, CEO, Gateway Casinos and Entertainment Limited.

Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, which operates 26 properties in B.C., Ontario, and Alberta, has 8,000 employees.

by Russ Byth and Vernon Matters Staff

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