CasinoProofDesk

Responsible gambling

Gambling is for adults, and it should only ever cost money you can afford to lose. If it has stopped being that, the services below are free and confidential. Every age, program and number on this page comes from an official source, checked on October 19, 2026.

If you are in crisis

Call or text 988, the Suicide Crisis Helpline, available 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Minimum age by province

  • Ontario: 19 for online casino play and for casinos and slot facilities; 18 for lottery and charitable gaming (iGaming Ontario; OLG).
  • Alberta: 18 to register, deposit and play on regulated online sites (Alberta iGaming Corporation).
  • Quebec: 18, as shown on Loto-Québec’s online gaming pages.
  • British Columbia: 19 for all gambling, online included (Government of BC).
  • Saskatchewan: 19 for PlayNow.com (Government of Saskatchewan).
  • Manitoba: the age of majority, for registered Manitoba residents (Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries).

We could not confirm the minimum age for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador or the territories from an official source.

Help lines

  • Ontario: ConnexOntario, 1-866-531-2600, text 247247 or chat, 24/7.
  • Alberta: 211 Alberta, call 211, text INFO to 211 or chat, 24/7.
  • Quebec: Jeu : aide et référence, 514 527-0140 in Montréal and area, 1 800 461-0140 elsewhere in Québec, 24/7.
  • British Columbia: Gambling Support BC, 1-888-795-6111, 24/7.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: the Gambling Help Line, 811, 24 hours a day.

Self-exclusion

  • Ontario. BetGuard opts you out of every regulated online gambling site and app in Ontario at once, including OLG and ProLine+. It is free, needs you to be 19 or older with government photo ID, and runs for 6 months to 5 years; the term can be extended but not shortened. Each regulated operator also runs its own program. For OLG’s casinos, charitable gaming centres and OLG.ca, OLG offers My PlayBreak.
  • Alberta. Centralized self-exclusion blocks all regulated Alberta online sites, land-based casinos, or both. Contact AGLC’s Self-Exclusion Program at 1-844-468-8034 or se@aglc.ca.
  • British Columbia. Game Break is BCLC’s self-exclusion program on PlayNow; PlayNow’s Customer Support Center is at 1-866-815-0222.
  • Quebec. Loto-Québec’s online account menu includes “Break and self-exclusion” and “Set my limits”.

Limits

In Ontario, iGaming Ontario says regulated operators must offer, at a minimum, spend-limit and time-limit tools, a short break and longer self-exclusion. In Alberta, the government requires registered operators to offer financial and time limits from registration. Setting a deposit limit before your first deposit is the simplest of these tools to use.

Before you play

Decide on an amount for the session before you start and treat it as spent. Set a deposit limit in your account before your first deposit, and use the casino’s time-out or reminder tools if it offers them. If you want to talk about your gambling with someone, the help lines above are free and confidential, and you do not need to be in crisis to call.

What we never publish

We never explain how to get around an age check, a location check, identity verification or a self-exclusion, and we never suggest depositing more to release a withdrawal. If a casino asks you to do that, stop and contact the help line for your province.