Gateway Casinos and Entertainment is a Canadian gaming and entertainment operator. It operates 23 casinos in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, and
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. The corporate offices of Gateway Casinos and Entertainment are located in Burnaby, British Columbia. It is owned by The Catalyst Capital Group Inc., a private equity investment firm founded in 2002.
History
Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited is one of the largest casino and entertainment companies in Western Canada and has grown from 2 facilities with 150 employees to 12 facilities with over 3,000 employees.
Properties include The Grand Villa Casino & Convention Centre Burnaby, Starlight Casino New Westminster, Cascades Resort Casino Langley, The Lake City Casinos (Vernon, Kamloops, Kelowna & Penticton) in the Okanagan, The Baccarat and Palace Casinos in Edmonton, the Chances Community Gaming Centres in Squamish, Mission, Kamloops and Newton Bingo in Surrey.
Starting in 1992, Gateway Casinos has provided operational services for casinos in the
Greater Vancouver Regional District
The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...
of British Columbia. In April 1992, Gateway Casinos acquired two casino operations in the Vancouver area: a 5,000 square foot facility on the second floor of the Mandarin Centre in Vancouver’s Chinatown and a smaller 4,000 square foot operation on the top floor of the Royal Towers Hotel in
New Westminster, BC
New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...
.
In March 1994, Gateway Casinos purchased a third casino, located in
Maple Ridge, British Columbia
Maple Ridge is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the northeastern section of Greater Vancouver between the Fraser River and the Golden Ears, which is a group of mountain summits which are the southernmost of the Garibaldi ...
with the intention of relocation in the future, which ultimately became Gateway’s Burnaby Casino.
June 1994 saw the Gateway relocation of the Vancouver casino from the small premises on the second floor of the Mandarin Centre to newly renovated premises in the same building. At this time, Mandarin Centre was the largest casino in British Columbia. In January 1996, Gateway Casinos relocated its operation in New Westminster from the top floor to expanded premises within the hotel.
Gateway Casinos ceased operating the casino in Maple Ridge in November 1996. The new operation was opened on the second floor of the parkade across from the now Grand Villa Casino in Burnaby, British Columbia.
November 1999 saw the Gateway acquisition of the Palace Casino (now Starlight Casino) in Edmonton, Alberta where an extensive renovation which more than doubled the size of the facility, was substantially completed in October 2001.
The year 2002 was pivotal for Gateway due to the acquisition of the Baccarat Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, in June and the August purchase of the Lake City Casinos in Penticton, Kelowna, Kamloops and Vernon.
In May 2005 Gateway Casinos opened the Cascades Casino in the heart of
Langley, British Columbia which brought about a new era of gaming for the company, boasting over 60,000 square feet of gaming space, 77-room hotel and more than 25,000 square feet of convention space operated by Coast Hotels & Resorts Limited.
The Starlight Casino and Grand Villa Casino were opened in 2007 and 2008 respectively and are currently operating as Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited’s flagship properties.
In 2011 Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited purchased three existing Community Gaming Centres located in Squamish, Mission and the Newton Surrey area. In April 2015 Gateway Casinos & Entertainment revealed its plans to build brand new casino located in the Edmonton Arena District.
In December 2015 Gateway casinos bought Playtime Gaming Inc. expanding their properties with 4 new CGC (community gaming centers) and 2 commercial bingo halls making them the largest casino company in British Columbia.
In December 2016, Gateway casinos purchased 11 Casinos from
OLG in Ontario ranging from Thunder Bay to London with rights to build in Kenora and North Bay hereby now employing 6000+ people and making its way into the Ontario market.
In March 2018, Gateway was selected as the service provider for OLG's Central Gaming Bundle, which includes management of
Casino Rama
Casino Rama is a large casino, hotel, and entertainment complex located in the town of Rama, Ontario on the reserve land of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation. It is jointly owned by the Chippewas of Rama First Nation and the Ontario Lottery and ...
and slot operations at
Georgian Downs
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
, and the rights to build a new casino in
Collingwood or
Wasaga Beach
Wasaga Beach (or simply Wasaga) is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. Situated along the longest freshwater beach in the world, it is a popular summer tourist destination. It is located along the southern end of Georgian Bay, approximate ...
. Wasaga Beach was selected as a site, and the Wasaga Playtime Casino opened on November 23, 2022.
Properties
Western Canada
*
Baccarat Casino (
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
) ''(closed 2016)''
*Cascades Casino, Hotel and Convention Centre (
Langley City
The City of Langley, commonly referred to as Langley City, or just Langley, is a municipality in the Metro Vancouver Regional District in British Columbia, Canada. It lies directly east of Surrey, adjacent to the Cloverdale area, and is surrou ...
)
*Cascades Casino, Hotel and Convention Centre (
Delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
) ''(opened September 2022)''
*Grand Villa Casino (
Burnaby
Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...
)
*Grand Villa Casino Edmonton (Edmonton)
*Playtime Casino (
Kelowna
Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''kiÊ ...
)
*Lake City Casinos
**Kamloops Casino (
Kamloops)
**Penticton Casino (
Penticton
Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan and Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its population was 33,761, while its census agglomeration
The ce ...
)
**Vernon Casino (
Vernon)
*Starlight Casino ''former Palace Casino'' (Edmonton)
*Starlight Casino (
New Westminster
New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capi ...
)
*Chances Mission (
Mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
)
*Chances Squamish (
Squamish)
*Newton Community Gaming Centre (
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
)
*Chances Abbotsford
*Chances Campbell River
*Chances Courtney
*Langley Bingo
*Chances Kamloops
Eastern Canada
*Thunder Bay
*
Sault Ste Marie
*Sudbury
*London
*Point Edward
*Woodstock
*Dresden ''(closed)''
*Clinton
*Hanover
*Innisfil
*
Casino Rama
Casino Rama is a large casino, hotel, and entertainment complex located in the town of Rama, Ontario on the reserve land of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation. It is jointly owned by the Chippewas of Rama First Nation and the Ontario Lottery and ...
*Chatham
*Wasaga Beach ''(opened November 2022)''
References
External links
Official company website
{{Crown Limited
Gambling companies of Canada
Privately held companies of Canada
Gambling companies established in 2002
2002 establishments in British Columbia
Companies based in Burnaby