Lawyers have formally filed documents to have a class action lawsuit certified in the Casino Rama Resort data breach.
One of the plaintiffs in the suit, Leonid Kaplan of Barrie, Ont., said that he went to Casino Rama to gamble on Sept. 25 and provided two forms of identification, including his driver’s license, his Visa card and his email address. About six weeks later on Nov. 10, he was informed by email that the casino had been the subject of a data breach.
Another plaintiff, Cheryl Jane Mizzi of Stoufville, Ont., said she regularly visited Casino Rama between 1999 and 2015 with her husband and provided the casino with her driver’s license, home address and email address so that she could receive promotions.
Both claim the casino breached the standard of care owed to them and was unjustly enriched to the deprivation of those affected by the data breach.
None of the claims have been proven in court.
The lawyers say they are filing the suit on behalf of all residents of Canada whose private information was stolen or accessed without authorization because of the breach.
The suit seeks $50 million in damages in addition to $10 million in punitive damages, legal costs and paid credit monitoring for the plaintiffs, according to a notice of action filed Monday.
The notice names Casino Rama Services Inc., CHC Casinos Canada Limited, Penn National Gaming Inc., Chippewas of Rama First Nation, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
In a statement Friday, lawyer Ted Charney said it appears that the casino “rolled the dice with employee, customer and vendor data rather than invest in state-of-the-art security measures.”
The casino announced last week that hackers had stolen customer and employee information in a cyberattack. The accessed information includes Casino Rama Resort IT information, financial reports, Casino Rama Resort emails, customer credit inquiries, vendor information, and employee information.
In a statement sent to media Friday, a spokesperson for Casino Rama said they could provide few details at the moment.
“We continue to work with the proper authorities on the ongoing investigation and are limited in in how much detail we can provide,” spokesperson Jenna Hunter said in an email. “We deeply regret the situation and recognize the seriousness of the issue.”
