Dottys Gaming and Spirits suffers a data breach

January of 2021, Dotty’s was hit by a cyberattack that no one really prepared for. The incident affected the guests directly as their personal information was exposed. Names, birth dates, and ID information are now in the hands of the hackers, and the business warns customers to be vigilant and change their passwords to whatever info may have been hijacked. 

The player database of Dotty’s gaming parlors and taverns was recently the victim of a cyberattack. The company says phone numbers, driver’s licenses, and birthdates were compromised. Dotty’s operates about 120 gaming taverns in Nevada that feature slots and video poker. The chain is owned by Craig Estey and his Nevada Restaurant Services (NRS). 

Nevada Revised Statuses spotted the malware on some of their systems and took action instantly. An investigation was conducted to carefully review the size of the “damages”, and additional precautions were taken to secure any information possible. 

Dotty’s holds personal information for approximately 300,000 players in its customer database. And not knowing when exactly the attack began happening makes it extremely hard to pinpoint names of which guests were affected. 

However, Dotty’s is making it up to the guests by offering a full year of complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft services through Internet Data Display. If you visited one of the locations in the past months, be sure to be on the lookout for any unusual activity on your devices, bank accounts. A lot of times, this type of information is used for taking out illegal loans, creating bank accounts, and making various purchases under false pretenses (identity theft). 

The cyberattack at Dotty’s is the most recent on the list of suchlike attacks in the United States, and based on how it’s going - it’s not going to be the last one. Hackers are learning as quickly as technology is developing. One cannot outrun another, and unless better security systems are created, personal information has no guarantee of remaining “personal.”

Change your passwords frequently, and avoid distributing your information. Using cryptocurrency for online gambling or using prepaid cards at land-based casinos is also a smart extra step you can take to secure your private data. 

Regardless of the incident, Dotty’s will keep the business as usual. With the exception of adding extra security precautions to make up for the losses and protect future guests, of course.