Slovenian casinos reopen after cyberattack knocked gaming systems offline

Slovenian casinos reopen after cyberattack knocked gaming systems offline

One of Slovenia’s largest gambling and tourism groups has begun reopening its casinos after a cyberattack forced them to shut down for several days.

Hit, which operates casinos, hotels and other tourism businesses in Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, said it detected a cybersecurity incident early last week. The attack on the company’s servers forced six Hit-operated casinos to close for roughly three days.

In a statement Friday, Hit said it had restored enough of its IT infrastructure to gradually reopen the affected casinos, but some gaming functions and its loyalty system remained unavailable. Guests were initially limited to a selection of slot-machine games while the company worked to restore other systems and applications.

“Maintaining and further strengthening our IT infrastructure and security will remain one of the company’s development priorities going forward,” Sandi Bratasevec, chairman of Hit’s management board, said in a statement.

Hit has not provided a further update on whether operations have since fully returned to normal. As of Monday, the notice on the company’s website still said it was operating on a limited basis, with table games and bingo not yet available.

The company has disclosed few details about the attack, and has not said whether any data was stolen or disclosed how hackers gained access to its systems. It has also not said whether a ransom was demanded or paid.

“We cannot publicly comment on any further details of the information security incident because the investigation is still ongoing,” Hit said.

Local media reported the disruption affected cash registers at casinos, with some customers receiving handwritten receipts at cafes. Hotel reception desks also experienced problems.

Some employees were temporarily furloughed because systems needed for normal casino operations were unavailable. Hit later said those workers were returning to work as systems came back online.

Slovenian police confirmed to local media that they had been notified of the incident and were investigating.

Casino and gaming companies have repeatedly been targeted by cybercriminals. Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming said last year that hackers had stolen employee information, although the incident did not disrupt its operations. Bragg Gaming Group also disclosed an attack affecting its computer systems.

In 2023, ransomware attacks caused major disruptions at U.S. casino operators MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment. MGM estimated the incident reduced its profit by about $100 million, while Caesars disclosed that hackers stole customer loyalty program data.