Self-Exclusion by Province: Lengths, Coverage and How to Sign Up

Self-exclusion is a voluntary agreement: you ask to be barred from gambling for a fixed period, and the operator agrees to refuse your play, close your account and stop marketing to you. It is not a punishment and not a medical diagnosis. It is a brake you can pull before a bad month becomes a bad year.

Canada has no national scheme. Each province runs its own, and the details matter: how long you can choose, whether the exclusion covers bricks-and-mortar casinos, the province's website, or every licensed site, and what you must do to come back. The table below summarizes the programmes we could document from the operators' own pages.

The programmes side by side

Players in other provinces should ask the operator in your own province which programme applies to your account; the PlayNow terms described below are BCLC's for British Columbia.

British Columbia: Game Break

BCLC's programme is called Game Break. According to PlayNow's help pages, you choose six months, one, two or three years, and once the break begins its length cannot be changed. During the break you cannot enter gambling facilities, and your PlayNow account and BCLC mobile apps are closed. Gambling Support BC adds that excluding yourself from a land-based facility automatically excludes you from PlayNow.com for the same period.

You can enrol online through your PlayNow account, in person at a casino, community gaming centre or commercial bingo hall with government photo ID, by video call with a GameSense Advisor, or by phone or live chat. If you have money in your PlayNow account, balances under C$3,000 are refunded to the bank account on file; larger balances trigger a call from a BCLC representative.

Coming back is deliberate. BCLC emails reinstatement instructions 30 days before the term ends. You must complete the Game Plan course and submit a Return to Play form, and BCLC confirms within seven days when you can play again. If you do nothing, you stay self-excluded for 12 months after the break ends. You can extend at any time. Gambling Support BC runs a free 24/7 line at 1-888-795-6111.

Ontario: My PlayBreak and BetGuard

My PlayBreak (OLG)

OLG's programme covers its casinos, charitable gaming centres and OLG.ca. Land-based terms are 3 or 6 months or 1 to 5 years. Online, OLG.ca adds very short breaks of one day, one week and one to three months alongside 6 months and 1 to 5 years. Register for a venue break by calling the OLG Support Centre at 1-800-387-0098, asking staff on site or visiting a PlaySmart Centre; for OLG.ca, use the My PlayBreak tab under My Account or call 1-855-978-7529.

Return rules depend on when you signed up. For casino and charitable gaming breaks registered after 12 September 2022 you can return once the term ends unless you renew; earlier registrations require a request to return.

BetGuard (all regulated online sites)

Before 2026, excluding yourself from one Ontario site did nothing about the dozens of others. The AGCO announced that iGaming Ontario's centralized self-exclusion programme, BetGuard, launched on 14 May 2026, letting people exclude themselves from all regulated online gambling sites in Ontario at once. OLG describes the terms as six months to five years and notes that BetGuard does not cover land-based casinos.

Regulated Ontario sites display the iGaming Ontario and BetGuard logos. iGaming Ontario's FAQ adds that each operator still runs its own self-exclusion and must offer spend limits, time limits and a short break option. ConnexOntario provides help at 1-866-531-2600. Our Ontario page covers the wider market.

Alberta: one programme, three scopes

Alberta's self-exclusion is run by AGLC and starts at selfexclusion.ca; only you can enrol yourself. Play Alberta's guidance lists four lengths: six months, one year, two years or three years. You choose the scope: all regulated iGaming platforms in Alberta, provincial casinos and racing entertainment centres, or both.

Once enrolled, your Play Alberta account is closed, you cannot buy lottery tickets, and the exclusion cannot be lifted early. Now that Alberta's online market is open to registered private operators, the online scope is the one that matters most for anyone who has accounts on more than one site. See our provincial comparison for how the market changed.

If you are not ready for a full exclusion, Play Alberta also offers a cool-off of one day to one month, deposit, loss and bet limits, and a reality-check reminder. Tightening a limit takes effect immediately; raising one takes 24 hours. The Alberta Health Services Addiction Helpline is free and open 24/7 at 1-866-332-2322.

Quebec: Loto-Québec

Loto-Québec's conditions of use for lotoquebec.com describe self-exclusion as irrevocable in all cases. You pick the length when you register, and you can apply in person at Loto-Québec offices in Montréal or Québec City, at a casino or gaming hall, or through your online account.

Exclusion from the website blocks your account or prevents you from opening one, and suspends Casino Privilèges Club membership for the whole period. Going the other way, self-exclusion from casinos or gaming halls automatically blocks the online account. Money left in the account can still be withdrawn. Loto-Québec's help and referral line is 1-800-461-0140. More on the province is on our Quebec page.

Offshore and grey-market sites: no central switch

None of the provincial programmes reach sites licensed outside your province, such as those under a Kahnawake, Malta or Curaçao licence. If you hold accounts on such sites, you have to act site by site:

1. Use the account's own self-exclusion or closure tool, and ask support in writing to confirm the exclusion period and that marketing will stop. Keep the reply.
2. Withdraw any remaining balance first, or ask in the same message how it will be returned.
3. Unsubscribe from emails and texts, and delete the casino apps from your phone.
4. Install gambling-blocking software on your devices so new sites cannot be opened on impulse.
5. Ask your bank or card issuer whether it can decline gambling transactions on your account. Policies differ between institutions and between cards, so get the answer in writing.

Do not use another person's identity, a VPN or a different address to get around an exclusion you set. Apart from defeating the purpose, a site that discovers it can void winnings and close the account. Our guide to casino complaints explains how to escalate if an operator lets you play during an exclusion.

Choosing a length

A short break of a day or a week is useful for cooling off after a heavy session, and OLG.ca and Play Alberta offer that. If you are excluding because gambling has started to cost more than money, the provincial guidance points the other way: choose a term long enough to change habits, and remember that in most provinces you cannot shorten it once it starts. That is deliberate. The decision made on a calm day is supposed to hold on a bad one.

Getting help

• British Columbia: Gambling Support BC, 1-888-795-6111, 24/7.
• Ontario: ConnexOntario, 1-866-531-2600.
• Alberta: Addiction Helpline, 1-866-332-2322, 24/7; or 211 Alberta.
• Quebec: help and referral line, 1-800-461-0140.

Online gambling is for adults only: 18+ or 19+ depending on the province. If you are unsure whether your play is a problem, these lines are free and confidential, and calling commits you to nothing.

Frequently asked questions