Canadian casino operator Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited will reportedly be provided with federal loan assistance worth more than $150 million to help it withstand challenging business conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Gateway Casinos has the privilege of operating gambling and entertainment venues across Canada,

As per a report published by the Sudbury Star, a loan worth $150.2 million will soon be channeled through Canada’s Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility and Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation to help the company survive a nationwide corona virus-caused casino lockdown that has only recently started to be partially lifted.

Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited operates more than two dozen gambling and entertainment properties spread across states like Alberta, Ontario, and British Columbia. The long list of the company’s gambling and entertainment properties includes Starlight Casino in Edmonton, and the Grand Villa Casino in Burnaby.

Robert Mitchell, who serves as a spokesman for the Vancouver-based casino operator, told reports that the federal assistance would be spread across the company’s entire estate to assist it in re-opening and bringing workers back to work.

The spokesperson reportedly also revealed that the company was working hard on its re-opening plans and evaluating the feasibility of re-opening its venues with the 50-person capacity restriction in place.

Speaking on the topic, Mr. Mitchell said, “The money from the federal government is a loan that will be repaid. Right now, we are working hard on our plans and evaluating the viability of re-opening under the stage three guidelines and the 50-person capacity restrictions.”

According to the spokesperson, Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited operates twelve facilities in Ontario alone and now it is working hard on a $45 million casino project in the northern city of Sudbury. Thus, far the project suffered repeated delays owing to appeals by local residents and most recently due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Vancouver-headquartered casino operator has developed extensive health and safety set of rules for each and every of its venues across the North American country. The safeguards include physical distancing of at least two meters, painstaking cleaning and sanitation of venues and mandatory use of masks for team members as well as guests. He furthermore claimed that all of the company’s plans have already been reviewed by a health and safety experts, and the reports have been submitted to the Alcohol & Gaming Commission of Ontario.