How to Self-Exclude from an Ontario Casino and Find Support
In Ontario you can ban yourself from casinos in three ways. BetGuard, the province’s central self-exclusion tool, opts you out of every regulated online gambling site and app in Ontario at once, including OLG and ProLine+. Each regulated operator also runs its own self-exclusion program for its own site. For land-based casinos and charitable gaming centres, which BetGuard does not cover, OLG runs My PlayBreak. All three are free. BetGuard needs you to be 19 or older, with a valid government photo ID, a permanent Canadian or US address, a cell phone and an email address. If you want to talk to someone first, ConnexOntario answers at 1-866-531-2600, free and confidential, 24/7.
Which option covers what?
| Program | What it covers | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| BetGuard | All regulated online gambling sites and apps in Ontario, including OLG and ProLine+, and sites that launch later | 6 months to 5 years |
| Operator self-exclusion | That operator’s site only | Set by the operator |
| OLG My PlayBreak | OLG casinos, charitable gaming centres and OLG.ca | 3 months to 5 years (casinos); 6 months to 5 years (OLG.ca) |
If you want to stop online and in person, you need BetGuard and My PlayBreak: OLG says BetGuard does not cover land-based casinos.
How do you sign up for BetGuard?
BetGuard is a centralized self-exclusion tool: it verifies your identity and adds you to a central registry, and regulated Ontario sites match their players against that registry and block your login and any new account. To use it, you need:
- To be 19 or older.
- A valid government photo ID. Provincial health cards are not accepted.
- A permanent address in Canada or the US.
- A cell phone and an email address.
You do not need an account with any gambling site, and the service is free. You choose the length of your term: 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or a custom term between 6 months and 5 years. Once you have signed up, the term can be extended but not shortened. If you have questions before or during sign-up, the BetGuard Contact Centre answers at 416-479-0008 in the Greater Toronto Area and 1-833-776-7171 toll-free from Canada and the US, in English and French.
Only you can sign yourself up, and BetGuard is separate from each operator’s program: being self-excluded at one site does not enrol you in BetGuard.
How do you self-exclude from one site only?
Use that operator’s own tools, usually in your account’s responsible gambling or account settings. iGO says every regulated operator must offer, at a minimum, spend-limit and time-limit tools, a short-term break and a longer self-exclusion. The AGCO’s standard 2.14 requires the self-exclusion program to have clear terms; once you self-exclude, you are logged out immediately and cannot log in for the length of the exclusion.
As an example of what an operator offers, Betty’s terms list Time Out periods of 1 day, 1 week, or 1, 2 or 3 months, self-exclusion from 6 months, and deposit, loss and play-time limits for 24 hours, 7 days or 1 month; relaxing a limit takes effect only after a 24-hour cool-off.
How do you exclude yourself from land-based casinos?
Through OLG’s My PlayBreak. OLG lists terms of 3 or 6 months or 1 to 5 years for casinos and charitable gaming centres, and 6 months or 1 to 5 years for OLG.ca. OLG.ca also offers short breaks of 1 day, 1 week or 1, 2 or 3 months. OLG’s PlaySmart Centres, run with the Responsible Gambling Council, are located at every casino and OLG charitable bingo and gaming centre in Ontario, and are a place to ask about the program in person.
Does BetGuard cover every site that accepts Ontario players?
No. BetGuard works through the regulated Ontario sites, which match their players against its registry. Its list of covered sites is OLG, ProLine+ and the operators in iGaming Ontario’s directory. iGO states it has no legal relationship with unregulated igaming operators, so a site that is not in its directory is outside BetGuard and outside iGO’s complaint process. iGO says every regulated site displays the iGaming Ontario and BetGuard logos, which is the quickest way to tell if your exclusion applies to the site in front of you.
What happens to your account and money?
BetGuard says that once you are enrolled, operators must cancel and refund your outstanding wagers to your player wallet within 24 hours, except bets on events that take place within that window, and unused funds are returned automatically or on request. When you self-exclude from one operator, AGCO standard 2.14 says unused funds are returned on request.
How long does it last, and can it be undone?
A self-exclusion lasts for the term you choose and cannot be shortened. When a BetGuard term ends, you choose a new term or remove yourself; if you do neither, BetGuard keeps you excluded for seven more years. Our page on self-exclusion duration and reinstatement conditions covers the end of each program in detail.
Where can you find support?
- ConnexOntario: call 1-866-531-2600, text 247247 (BetGuard’s page says to text CONNEX), or chat. Free, confidential, 24/7.
- CAMH gambling services: free counselling, mainly group-based, at 416-535-8501, option 2.
- PlaySmart Centres: at every Ontario casino and OLG charitable bingo and gaming centre.
- 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline: if you are in crisis, call or text 988, any time of day or night.
What we could not confirm
- The enrolment steps for My PlayBreak: OLG’s page lists the durations, not the steps.
- Opening hours of PlaySmart Centres: not in the sources we read.
A short checklist
- Decide what you want to stop: all online sites, one site, land-based casinos, or all of them.
- For all online sites, sign up for BetGuard with your photo ID, address, phone and email. For land-based casinos, ask about My PlayBreak at a PlaySmart Centre.
- Withdraw or ask for any remaining balance once you are enrolled.
- Save ConnexOntario’s number, 1-866-531-2600.
Our page on the legal gambling age in Ontario covers who is eligible to play, and our responsible gambling page lists help lines in other provinces.
