Ontario lifts capacity restrictions at casinos

Ontario announced Monday the lift of capacity limits at casinos, as well as restaurants, gyms and some other locations where proof of vaccination against COVID-19 is required. The reopening plan was presented by the Ontario government on Friday.

As casinos had been operating at 50% capacity, major operator Gateway Casinos now sees the lifting of the restriction as “a game changer”. "A lot of heavy lifting will begin exactly at 12:01 a.m., but this is absolutely great news for us," said Rob Mitchell, director of communications and public affairs for Gateway Casinos, as reported by CTV News London. 

"We can essentially restore all our dormant slots, opening our tables, and all the social distancing limitations are removed. All those directional signs you see on the floor will be gone, most of the plexiglass will come down, and we'll have full seating at our restaurants. We think we'll be back to normal”, he stated.

Premier Doug Ford also unveiled plans for managing the pandemic long term. The province aims to remove all public health measures meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 by late March, including mask mandates.

Proof-of-vaccination requirements will start to be lifted early next year, provided that trends do not become concerning, starting with restaurants, bars, gyms and casinos in January.