There is mounting industry speculation that Okada Manila has been subject to a cyberattack, however the integrated resort would only confirm to Inside Asian Gaming that it is experiencing “technical issues” with their “Information Technology Systems”.
Okada Manila representatives issued a statement to Inside Asian Gaming on Wednesday after IAG noticed that an overwhelming majority of electronic gaming machines on the property’s gaming floor were turned off around five days ago. Machines have been gradually turning back on, suggesting Okada Manila is getting on top of the issue, whatever it may be.
As of Wednesday evening, approximately half of the slot machines on the Okada Manila floor appeared to be operational.
IAG understands that the issue has not only affected gaming machines but other systems around the property as well.
The statement goes on to read, “We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused, and we appreciate your patience and understanding.
“Please rest assured that we have already made good progress in resolving the issue, and are working diligently to restore full and normal operations as soon as possible.”
The incident has raised speculation in the context of recently confirmed attacks on integrated resorts around the world.
US casino giants Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts were both targeted by hackers recently, with MGM’s North American operations severely impacted in an incident on 12 September. That attack, which the company has since said is expected to cost around US$100 million, not only impacted gaming floors across the country but also hotel reservation and other critical systems.
Only last week, Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands revealed that the data of some 665,000 members of its shopping rewards program had been accessed without permission by a third party.
And leading industry supplier Aristocrat was the victim of a cyberattack in early June which saw the personal information of staff extracted and in some cases published.
The increasing regularity of such attacks seems to suggest a concerted effort by one or more groups to target gaming companies around the world, and will no doubt lead to higher states of emergency readiness and diligence in defending IT systems by the world’s IR companies.
