Swinomish Casino Cites ‘Cybersecurity Incident’ for Recent Closure

The Swinomish Northern Lights Casino & Lodge in Anacortes, Washington, closed its doors last week, on April 5. On Thursday, the casino announced that the closure was due to a cybersecurity issue that the facility is still dealing with this week. 

Initially, the tribal casino only said that it was closing due to technical issues.

Law Enforcement, Cybersecurity Experts Investigating Issues

However, the casino posted a message to its website on Thursday that gave slightly more clarity to the situation.

“We are investigating a cybersecurity incident that has affected our operations,” the casino posted to its website on April 11. “We do not yet have an estimate on when our facilities will reopen. We are working as quickly as possible to restore operations and will provide updates on this website and on our Facebook page as our systems come back online.”

The message also referenced ongoing investigations into the incident.

“We are working with law enforcement and leading cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident and determine the scope of the issue,” the casino wrote. “If we learn data was impacted by this incident, we will contact affected individuals as soon as possible.”

The website says that while the casino and restaurants on the property have been temporarily closed, the lodge and RV park are still open. However, the tribe can only honor existing reservations, and is not making new ones at this time. 

Employees, Customers Left in the Dark by Closure

Former Swinomish Casino employee Greg Sullivan shared surprise that the casino would close, particularly before what should have been a reasonably busy weekend for the resort. 

BQ“The casino industry does not close on a Friday or a Saturday night, especially on the first Friday or Saturday of the month because that’s when you’ll get people who have paid their bills and want to go out on the weekend,” Sullivan told local KIRO 7 News on Monday. “The only time I remember the casino ever emptying was when someone mistakenly pulled the fire alarm.”

On that same day, KIRO 7 reported that several visitors to the facility remained confused about the closure. 

“I can’t believe it’s still going on after four days,” Sarah Seelow, who had planned to take her boyfriend to the casino over the weekend, told KIRO 7 News. “I was excited to do it – a little disappointing we weren’t able to go.”

According to Seelow, she received phone calls from a casino employee who told her the casino was having issues with its internet and phone services.

Cyberattacks Continue to Plague Casino Industry

While details on the Swinomish case have yet to be released, cybersecurity attacks against casino operators have made headlines on multiple occasions over the last year. 

In September, Caesars paid $15 million in ransom to a cybercrime group that infiltrated its systems. Days later, MGM Resorts saw its computer systems taken down by a similar cyberattack, one that impacted reservations, hotel key cards, email systems, and even casino floor operations. MGM estimated that the breach cost the company 'link_text_goes_here','CC - News - US - Article','41410','','','','gtm-content-internal-links'00 million. 

The current situation marks the longest closure for the Swinomish Casino since March 2020, when the facility temporarily closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Swinomish Casino & Lodge opened in 1994, and is operated by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. The indigenous tribe lives primarily on the Swinomish Reservation, which is located on Puget Sound. The casino and lodge overlook Padilla Bay in northwestern Washington.

(Image: Andre Jenny/Alamy)