How to Self-Exclude From Gambling in Canada

This guide explains how each program works, verified against each operator’s or regulator’s own page on September 30, 2026. It covers how to enrol, the term lengths, what happens when your term ends and where to get help. It doesn’t recommend any gambling site.

What self-exclusion is, and what it isn’t

Self-exclusion is a voluntary agreement that bars you from gambling for a set period. The programs we checked share some basic features, though not every program addresses each one:

• Only you can sign up. AGLC, BetGuard and SIGA all say that nobody else, not even a family member, can enrol you.
• You can’t cancel it early. BetGuard, AGLC, BCLC, Loto-Québec, Manitoba, PlayNow Saskatchewan and Atlantic Lottery all say the term can’t be shortened or ended before its end date. Several let you extend it.
• It’s provincial. AGLC says its program “is only in effect for gambling inside the province of Alberta”. BetGuard covers “regulated igaming in Ontario”. None of the programs we checked extends beyond its own province.
• Marketing stops. Every program that addresses marketing says it stops. BetGuard’s FAQ, for example, says “all regulated igaming Operators in Ontario must not send marketing to self-excluded individuals.”

Programs at a glance

Ontario: BetGuard for online, My PlayBreak for casinos

BetGuard is iGaming Ontario’s central self-exclusion tool. It launched on May 14, 2026. According to iGaming Ontario, it “enables individuals aged 19 and older to voluntarily opt out of all Ontario regulated online gaming platforms through one online portal”. That includes OLG’s site and “any that may launch in the future”. Once you’re registered, you can’t use existing accounts, open new ones or receive marketing from any regulated site.

How to sign up, from BetGuard’s own pages:

1. Create an account at betguard.ca. BetGuard says this takes “less than 5 minutes”. You need to be 19 or older with a valid government photo ID, a permanent Canadian or US address, a cellphone and an email address. You don’t need an account at any gambling site.
2. Confirm your identity with the photo ID and facial recognition.
3. Choose a term: 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or a custom term. The FAQ puts the range at “anywhere from 6 months to 5 years”.

What happens next:

• Each operator checks BetGuard “in real time”. Operators “must cancel and refund your outstanding wagers to your player wallet within 24 hours”. Bets on events that fall within that window are the exception. Unused wallet funds come back to you, either automatically or on request, depending on the operator.
• You “can’t shorten the term, but you can extend it anytime.”
• If you need help registering, call the BetGuard Contact Centre toll-free at 1-833-776-7171 or at 416-479-0008 in the Toronto area. Help is available in English and French.

BetGuard does not cover land-based casinos, as OLG’s own page states. For those, use OLG’s My PlayBreak:

• Casinos and charitable gaming centres: 3 months, 6 months, or 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 years. To start, call the OLG Support Centre at 1-800-387-0098, ask a staff member on site, or see a Service Coordinator at a PlaySmart Centre. Your photo is taken, and OLG says casinos use facial recognition “to assist in detection”. A casino break also blocks you from OLG.ca.
• OLG.ca only: 1 day, 1 week, 1, 2, 3 or 6 months, or 1 to 5 years. Start from the My PlayBreak tab under My Account on OLG.ca, or call 1-855-978-7529.

Watch for impostors. On September 10, 2026, iGaming Ontario warned that “third parties” were “using the BetGuard name and branding to make misleading statements” about opting out. iGO says to rely on the operator sites in its directory, OLG.ca, ConnexOntario, the Responsible Gambling Council and the other partners on BetGuard’s Find Help page. If something looks suspicious, check it with the BetGuard Contact Centre or iGaming Ontario directly.

Alberta: AGLC’s Self-Exclusion Program

AGLC’s centralized program, at selfexclusion.ca, is “a required integration step” for every operator in Alberta’s new regulated iGaming market. When you enrol, you choose what to exclude from:

• regulated iGaming platforms,
• casinos and racing entertainment centres, or
• both.

Terms: six months, one year, two years or three years.

How to enrol: “All registrations must be completed online at Self-Exclusion portal by the participant”, from any internet-connected device that can take a photo. Enter your full name exactly as it appears on your government ID. AGLC says the program also collects your date of birth, gender identity, phone number, email, information about your gambling habits, and employment details if you work in a casino.

What AGLC says happens next:

• The exclusion “begins immediately after you’ve signed the agreement” and “cannot be cancelled or changed in any way.”
• If you chose iGaming, you are “automatically excluded from all Alberta regulated iGaming platforms” once your agreement is processed. You don’t need to close each account yourself.
• For a bet on a future event, contact the operator, which “will return the original wager to you”. While you’re excluded, you can’t claim prizes.
• If you excluded from venues and enter a casino or racing entertainment centre, security staff will remove you.
• You can opt in to follow-up calls at roughly 10, 30, 60, 90 and 175 days. AGLC also contacts you within 30 days of your agreement’s expiry.

For help, call 1-844-468-8034 or email se@aglc.ca.

British Columbia: BCLC’s Game Break

BCLC’s program is called Game Break. It covers PlayNow.com and, since March 26, 2024, all gaming facilities, “such as casinos, community gaming centres (CGCs) with slot machines and the gaming floor of race tracks.” Self-exclusion from PlayNow.com extends to all of those facilities.

• Terms: six months, one year, two years or three years. Your break “begins right away” and “cannot be changed”. You can extend it, but you can’t end it early.
• How to enrol: use the online form after logging in to PlayNow. You can also go in person to any casino, community gaming centre or commercial bingo hall with government photo ID, or enrol by video call with a GameSense Advisor. Call 1-866-815-0222 and press 3 (7 a.m. to midnight Pacific time, daily).
• Money in your account: BCLC withdraws cash balances over $5 to your bank account on file. If you have no bank account on file, BCLC sends a cheque. A balance under $5 with no bank account on file is forfeited, and promotional funds are lost.

Quebec: Loto-Québec’s autoexclusion

Loto-Québec describes its program as confidential, free and irrevocable (“confidentielle, gratuite et irrévocable”). It has two versions:

• Online (lotoquebec.com): 3 months to 5 years. Sign up in the “Encadrer mon jeu” section of your account, or call Loto-Québec’s client centre at 1-866-611-5686 for help. Your account is deactivated, and Loto-Québec refunds your balance.
• Casinos and gaming halls: 3 months to 5 years. You must register in person, either at a casino or gaming hall, or without an appointment at Loto-Québec’s Montréal office on weekdays from 8:30 to 4:30. You need photo ID, and your photo is taken. A venue exclusion also blocks your lotoquebec.com account.

In both versions, Loto-Québec sends no communications during the exclusion or for a year after it ends. For venue exclusions, Loto-Québec calls that year a minimum (“une période minimale d’un an”). For the online exclusion, there is one exception: you have to unsubscribe from the Loteries newsletter yourself. When you sign up, it offers a call from the Jeu : aide et référence helpline within two weeks. For short cool-offs, Loto-Québec also offers “pauses de jeu”.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan

Manitoba (Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries):

• Online: Voluntary Self-Exclusion on PlayNow Manitoba, for a minimum of 6 months, 1, 2 or 3 years. Go to My Account, then Self-Exclusion. Your player account is cancelled and your PlayerCash is paid out.
• Casinos: the online sign-up covers the website only. To exclude from Club Regent Casino, McPhillips Station Casino and the SharkClub Gaming Centre, call Security Programs at 204-957-2500 ext. 8468.

Saskatchewan:

• Online: Voluntary Self-Exclusion on PlayNow Saskatchewan, which is run by the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA), for 6 months or 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 years. Call 1-877-706-6789 (option 3) or use Live Chat for help.
• Casinos: SIGA’s casino program runs from 6 months to 5 years. Enrol at any SIGA casino, or by appointment at SIGA’s Central Office in Saskatoon. SIGA says the ban covers “all casinos in Saskatchewan”: its seven casinos plus Casino Regina and Casino Moose Jaw. Breaching it “can result in charges and a fine”.

Atlantic Canada and the territories

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador: Atlantic Lottery’s Take a Break tool offers two kinds of break on alc.ca:

• a short-term break of 1 to 90 days, or
• a long-term break of 6, 12, 24 or 36 months.

Atlantic Lottery says “a break cannot be reversed by you or by Atlantic Lottery.” The button appears on every wager screen and in the My Account menu. Note that Take a Break is an account break on alc.ca, not a formal self-exclusion agreement, and it covers alc.ca only. We didn’t find a published provincial self-exclusion program for land-based casinos or video lottery in these four provinces on the Atlantic Lottery pages we checked, so ask the venue directly, or call your provincial help line below for guidance. At PEI’s Red Shores, Atlantic Lottery points players to the on-site PlayWise Information Centre (902-620-4267) for tools and support.

Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut: we didn’t find a territorial self-exclusion program on the Lotteries Yukon, WCLC or Government of the Northwest Territories pages we checked. For more on each territory, see our pages on Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The help lines below are free wherever you are.

When your term ends: reinstatement rules

Expiry doesn’t always mean you’re let straight back in. Here’s what each program says:

Offshore sites: why self-exclusion won’t stop them

Provincial programs work because regulated operators are required to check the registry. BetGuard applies to “regulated igaming in Ontario”. AGLC’s program covers “Alberta regulated iGaming platforms” and only inside Alberta. Neither reaches an offshore or grey-market site. Our offshore sites explainer explains why those sites fall outside the provincial system.

To cover the gap, layer your protections:

1. Install blocking software on every device. On its Find Help page, BetGuard lists BetBlocker and Gamban as “website blocking software” that can “limit or restrict your access to any gambling websites”.
2. Block or limit payments. Our guide to blocking gambling payments at your bank goes through card locks, credit-card rules and e-Transfer limits, bank by bank.
3. Self-exclude everywhere you still have an account, including your province’s lottery site and any casino you visit.

What changed recently

• September 10, 2026: iGaming Ontario warned about third parties impersonating BetGuard.
• July 13, 2026: AGLC says that from July 13, every iGaming operator in Alberta must be registered with AGLC. Integrating with AGLC’s Self-Exclusion Program is a required step for registered operators. Our Alberta launch tracker follows the rollout.
• May 14, 2026: BetGuard launched. It lets you opt out of Ontario’s whole regulated online market in one place, “without the need to visit individual igaming websites”.

Where to get help

These lines are free and confidential. You don’t have to be self-excluded to call.

Every number above is checked against its official source in our help lines guide, which also covers services for families and debt advice.

Your next steps

1. Pick your program from the table above. In Ontario, if you also visit casinos, sign up for both BetGuard and My PlayBreak.
2. Pick a term you can live with. You can’t shorten it later, and with BetGuard, BCLC’s Game Break, Manitoba’s VSE and OLG My PlayBreak registrations made before September 12, 2022, the exclusion can carry on past the end date unless you act.
3. Withdraw your balances first, or check how your program handles them.
4. Add blocking software and bank limits to cover sites your province doesn’t regulate.
5. Call a help line. Several programs, including AGLC and BCLC, say that self-exclusion works better with professional support.

This guide describes each program as its operator or regulator publishes it. It is not legal or medical advice, and we don’t link to or recommend any gambling site. Last reviewed September 30, 2026.