Microsoft Outage Impacted Several Casino Resorts in China’s Macau, Philippines’ Manila

Posted on: July 23, 2024, 01:20h. 

Last updated on: July 23, 2024, 01:50h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Last week’s catastrophic Microsoft outage grounded global travel and brought many businesses and industries to a standstill.

Microsoft outage Macau Manila casinos
The Microsoft outage that impacted business worldwide also dealt a losing hand to several integrated resort casinos in Asia. Gaming venues in China’s Macau and the Philippines capital of Manila reported issues linked to the CrowdStrike software update. (Image: Casino.org)

The cybersecurity infrastructure meltdown impacted casino resort operations not only in the United States but also in major gaming hubs in Asia.

In China’s Macau, the only place under the control of the People’s Republic where casino gambling is allowed, at least three of the six casino operators confirmed operational deficiencies because of the Microsoft breakdown. Macau’s Judiciary Police confirmed Monday that the IT systems of three casino concession firms were among the affected networks, though law enforcement didn’t identify the companies.

Macau officials say the city’s Cybersecurity Incident Alert and Response Center (CARIC) continues to monitor the situation.

Based on the information collected so far, the impact of this global cyber security incident on Macau is relatively limited and controlled,” a police statement read.

Unlike in the US where many casino resorts, including on the Las Vegas Strip, reported issues with guest check-ins and some gaming operations being disabled because of their computer systems going offline, the Microsoft calamity in Macau was confined to back-of-house operations. As a result, Macau casino guests didn’t see noticeable impacts from the IT glitch.

Worldwide Impact

The three casino companies in Macau reported to local law enforcement that the Microsoft incident resulted in their internal computer systems malfunctioning. However, no casino operations were affected.

The three casino companies operate numerous resorts and satellite gaming venues across the enclave. They weren’t the only high-profile casino companies to be impacted by the Microsoft outage.

In Manila, Solaire Resort & Casino in the capital’s Entertainment City reported widespread impacts to its casino floor. Local reports suggested that many of the casino’s nearly 2,000 slot machines displayed blue-colored error screens over the weekend.

Solaire is owned and operated by Bloomberry Resorts. In May, the Philippines-based company opened Solaire North, a $1 billion integrated resort casino about an hour’s drive north of Entertainment City.

There were no media reports that the Microsoft situation impacted Solaire North.

Cybersecurity Update Blamed?

On July 18, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike released a software update that caused the global Microsoft outage. The update impacted many millions of computers and networks running on the Microsoft Windows operating system.

CrowdStrike handles the security of many Windows PCs and business network services around the world. CrowdStrike said it quickly “identified” and “isolated” the glitch, and deployed a fix.

Most affected computers have since been restored and business operations have returned to normal, though ongoing issues with Delta Airlines persist. Along with interrupting casino and resort operations, the Microsoft outage took websites offline, television stations off the air, and grounded thousands of flights.

Microsoft said of the matter:

“This incident demonstrates the interconnected nature of our broad ecosystem — global cloud providers, software platforms, security vendors and other software vendors, and customers. It’s also a reminder of how important it is for all of us across the tech ecosystem to prioritize operating with safe deployment and disaster recovery using the mechanisms that exist.”