Player Eligibility and Self-Exclusion

Who may play online depends on the province, and so does the way you stop. The minimum age for regulated online casino play is 19 in Ontario and British Columbia and 18 in Alberta and Quebec, and Ontario, Alberta and BC require you to be located in the province when you play. Self-exclusion is also provincial. Ontario’s BetGuard opts you out of every regulated online gambling site in the province at once, but not land-based casinos, which OLG’s My PlayBreak covers. Alberta’s centralized self-exclusion can block regulated online sites, land-based casinos or both. BC’s program is Game Break, and Loto-Québec’s account menu offers “Break and self-exclusion”. In Ontario, a BetGuard term runs from 6 months to 5 years and can be extended but not shortened.

What this section covers, and why

Eligibility and self-exclusion rules are where provincial differences matter most to a player: an 18-year-old can play online in Alberta but not in Ontario, and a self-exclusion in one province does not follow you to another. This section sets out each province’s age and location rules and its self-exclusion options, from official pages, and links to support. It describes official processes only; it never explains how to get around an age check, a location check or a self-exclusion.

Who may play, and from where?

• Ontario. iGaming Ontario says you must be 19 or older and physically in Ontario to play on regulated sites. OLG states that casinos and slot facilities are 19+, and lottery and charitable gaming 18+. You can open or access an account while outside Ontario but cannot wager there.
• Alberta. The Alberta iGaming Corporation says you must be 18 or older to register, deposit and play on a regulated site, and physically within Alberta’s borders to log in or bet.
• British Columbia. The Government of BC sets the age at 19 for all gambling, online included, and PlayNow.com is available only to players located in BC.
• Quebec. The lotoquebec.com online gaming pages display an 18+ requirement.

How do you self-exclude in each province?

• Ontario. BetGuard covers all regulated online gambling sites and apps in Ontario, including OLG and ProLine+. It is free and needs you to be 19 or older with a government photo ID, a permanent Canadian or US address, a cell phone and an email address. Each regulated operator also runs its own program. For OLG’s land-based casinos, charitable gaming centres and OLG.ca, My PlayBreak offers terms from 3 months to 5 years.
• Alberta. Centralized self-exclusion is free and voluntary and, according to the Alberta iGaming Corporation, blocks access to all regulated Alberta iGaming sites and land-based casinos for a set period; AGLC offers iGaming only, land-based only, or both.
• British Columbia. PlayNow lists Game Break as BCLC’s self-exclusion program.
• Quebec. The lotoquebec.com account menu includes “Break and self-exclusion” and “Set my limits”.

The guides in this section

• Legal casino gambling age in Ontario. Why the age is 19 online and in casinos, why an 18-year-old can still open an OLG.ca account for lottery, and what operators must check.
• Ontario self-exclusion: duration and reinstatement. How long BetGuard, My PlayBreak and operator programs last, why a term cannot be shortened, and what happens when it ends.
• How to self-exclude in Ontario and find support. The three routes in Ontario, what each covers, how to sign up for BetGuard, and where to find support.

How we checked

We read iGaming Ontario’s player FAQs, OLG’s site and its programs page, BetGuard’s FAQ, the Alberta iGaming Corporation’s player FAQs and AGLC’s pages, the Government of BC’s gambling page, PlayNow’s Game Break page and lotoquebec.com on October 19, 2026. Help line numbers come from the official pages that publish them; our responsible gambling page lists them by province.

What we could not confirm

• The durations of BC’s Game Break and Loto-Québec’s breaks and self-exclusion: they were not shown on the public pages as we viewed them.
• The minimum gambling age in the Atlantic provinces and the territories: we found no official page stating it. Our province-by-province reference shows what we did find.

If you want to stop

Pick the program that covers where you play: in Ontario, BetGuard for every regulated online site and My PlayBreak for casinos; in Alberta, the centralized program; in BC, Game Break; in Quebec, the self-exclusion tool in your lotoquebec.com account. If you want to talk to someone first, ConnexOntario answers at 1-866-531-2600 in Ontario, 211 Alberta at 211, Gambling Support BC at 1-888-795-6111 and Jeu : aide et référence at 1 800 461-0140 in Quebec, all free.