Responsible gambling in Ontario and Alberta, from limits to self-exclusion

Responsible gambling in Ontario and Alberta rests on tools the law requires, not on promises. Every regulated casino has to let you cap what you deposit, pause your account and shut yourself out, and both provinces now run a single sign-up that locks you out of every regulated site at once.

This page sets out those tools province by province, explains how to use them, and lists free help that answers day and night. If you only need a number right now, it is in the box below.

What the law already does for you

Before you touch a single setting, the provincial rules already do part of the work. They fix a minimum age, require every regulated site to offer the same core tools and tie each site to a central exclusion list.

What the rules guarantee	Ontario	Alberta
Regulator	AGCO, with sites contracted by iGaming Ontario	AGLC, with sites contracted by the Alberta iGaming Corporation
Minimum age	19	18
Limits every site must offer	Deposit and loss limits over 24 hours, 7 days and a month, plus time limits	Financial and time-based limits
Short breaks	1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 2 months or 3 months	Check the safer-play section of each site
Province-wide exclusion	BetGuard: 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or a custom length	AGLC Self-Exclusion Program: online casinos, land-based venues, or both
24/7 help line	ConnexOntario · 1-866-531-2600	Addiction Helpline · 1-866-332-2322

These protections only apply on regulated sites. A site licensed outside the province, whether in Curaçao, Malta or on Kahnawà:ke territory, can take Canadian players without any of these obligations, and it never checks the exclusion lists kept by either province.

Deposit and loss limits at Ontario and Alberta casinos

In Ontario, the AGCO standards require an easy way to set financial and time-based limits when you register and at any time afterwards. The casino must offer deposit limits and loss limits over 24 hours, 7 days and a month (Standard 2.23). Alberta’s rules require the same kind of financial and time-based limits.

Loosening a limit is deliberately slowed down. In Ontario, a request to raise or remove one only takes effect after a cooling-off period of at least 24 hours (Standard 2.24), which leaves time to change your mind.

Two habits make limits work better. Set them on the day you open the account, before the first deposit, and set them lower than you think you need. A deposit limit caps what leaves your bank; a loss limit caps what you can lose even if you win along the way.

Taking a short break from online gambling

A break, sometimes called a time-out, freezes betting on one site without closing the account. Ontario sites must offer breaks of one day, one week, one month, two months or three months, and you cannot place a bet until the period ends (Standard 2.13).

Other rules keep the session itself in view. Ontario requires a way to track how long you have been playing (Standard 2.22), an automatic log-out after a period of inactivity (Standard 4.30) and access to your deposits, withdrawals and amounts wagered (Standard 3.15). Alberta also requires operators to give players their account information and transaction history.

Self-exclusion in Ontario with BetGuard

Since May 2026, Ontario players can exclude themselves from every regulated gaming site in one step through BetGuard, run by iGaming Ontario. It covers more than 75 sites, OLG’s included, and you choose a term of six months, one year, five years or a custom length.

Once you are on the list, operators have 24 hours to block your account, and they must cancel and refund any bet that has not yet been settled (Standard 2.14.1). They also have to stop sending you marketing. Each site still offers its own exclusion for six months, one year or five years if you only want to leave one casino (Standard 2.14).

Alberta’s self-exclusion program

Alberta runs a single exclusion program through the AGLC, and every registered operator has to connect to it. When you sign up, you choose whether to exclude yourself from all registered online casinos, from land-based casinos and racing entertainment centres, or from both (AGLC).

Enrolment is fully digital, through the program’s online portal, which licensed sites and GameSense Alberta, the AGLC’s player support program, both link to. You choose how long the exclusion lasts when you sign up.

Questions to ask yourself before the next session

Gambling problems rarely start with a big loss. They tend to show up in small habits first. If you answer yes to several of these questions, it is worth talking to someone, even if you feel in control.

• Do you deposit again soon after a loss to try to win it back?
• Have you raised a limit you set for yourself, or opened another account to get around it?
• Do you play with money meant for rent, bills or groceries?
• Have you borrowed, sold something or used credit to keep playing?
• Do you often play for longer, or bet more, than you planned?
• Do you feel restless or irritable when you try to cut down?
• Have you kept your gambling from the people close to you?
• Do you gamble to get away from stress, boredom or a low mood?

Blocking gambling sites on your devices

An exclusion covers regulated sites. Blocking software goes further and also stops offshore casinos from loading on your phone or computer. BetBlocker is free, and Gamban is a paid app; iGaming Ontario lists both among its recommended tools.

Pair a blocker with an exclusion rather than relying on one or the other. The exclusion stops regulated casinos from taking your money; the blocker removes the easy alternative when the urge comes at midnight.

Free gambling help in Ontario and Alberta

Every service below is free and confidential. You do not need a diagnosis, a referral or a problem that feels serious enough. Several also help family members who are worried about someone else’s gambling.

Our reviews look at how easy each of these tools is to find, as part of the safer-play mark in every Casiloon score. Casiloon also never shows bonus banners or countdown timers, for reasons set out on the page explaining what we refuse to publish.

If a casino we cover makes a limit or an exclusion hard to reach, let us know and we will check it against the provincial rules. Every casino review we publish also notes where those tools sit on the site.