Responsible gambling

Gambling is entertainment with a cost attached. It is not an income, it is not a way out of a financial problem, and no run of results changes the maths underneath it. If the second sentence sounds like it is about you, the numbers further down this page are free, confidential and available now.

The tools every licensed operator must give you

• Deposit limits. Daily, weekly or monthly. Set them before your first deposit, while the decision costs nothing. Increases usually take effect only after a cooling-off delay; decreases take effect immediately.
• Loss and wager limits. A cap on net losses or total stakes in a period.
• Session reminders and time limits. A clock that interrupts, which matters more than it sounds like it should.
• Cooling-off. A short lock, typically 24 hours to six weeks.
• Self-exclusion. A long lock, six months upward, that cannot be reversed on impulse.

How far self-exclusion reaches

Excluding yourself at one operator covers that operator and nothing else. Ontario players on AGCO-registered sites can exclude across the registered market through iGaming Ontario's programme, and the AGLC runs an equivalent scheme in Alberta. Neither reaches sites licensed outside Canada, which is a genuine limitation of both. Device-level blocking software such as Gamban or BetBlocker does reach them, and running one alongside a provincial exclusion closes the gap.

Signs worth taking seriously

Chasing losses. Gambling with money set aside for something else. Hiding how much or how often. Borrowing to play. Needing larger stakes for the same feeling. Irritability when you cannot play. Any one of these on its own is worth a conversation.

Free, confidential help in Canada

These numbers were re-checked against each service's own website on 9 October 2026.

• Ontario, ConnexOntario: 1-866-531-2600, or text CONNEX to 247247. Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• British Columbia, Gambling Support BC: 1-888-795-6111. Free, confidential and available 24/7.
• Alberta, Addiction Helpline: 1-866-332-2322, listed by Alberta Health Services among its 24/7 help lines.
• Quebec, Gambling: Help and Referral: 1 800 461-0140. Bilingual, confidential, 24/7.
• Manitoba, Addictions Foundation of Manitoba: 1-800-463-1554.
• Saskatchewan, the Atlantic provinces and the territories: contact your provincial or territorial health service's mental health and addictions line. We have not printed a number for these because we could not confirm the current one from an official provincial page, and a wrong help line number is worse than none.

In an emergency, call 911. For suicide or crisis support anywhere in Canada, call or text 988.

Age

Online gambling is restricted to players aged 19 and over in most of Canada, and 18 and over in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. Every licensed operator is required to verify age.