Self-Exclusion in Canada, Province by Province: Signing Up, Term Lengths and Getting Out

Self-exclusion is a binding request to be refused service. You ask a gambling provider to close your account, stop marketing to you and turn you away at the door for a period you choose. In Canada there is no national list. Each province runs its own scheme through its lottery corporation or regulator. The term lengths, the venues covered and the steps for coming back all differ, sometimes a great deal. Ontario also added a separate centralized scheme in 2026 that covers every privately run regulated site at once.

This page covers the mechanics: how to sign up, how long a term lasts, what it covers and how it ends. Softer tools such as deposit caps, session reminders and cooling-off periods are compared in our guide to GameSense and PlaySmart limits.

The rules every provincial programme shares

The programmes were built separately, but they share a few features.

• Terms are fixed and chosen up front. You choose a length when you enrol, and in most provinces you cannot shorten it afterwards.
• Enrolment closes accounts and stops marketing. Your online balance is paid out or frozen, depending on the province, and promotions stop.
• Land-based enforcement relies on photos and ID. Several provinces take your photo at enrolment, and some casinos use facial recognition to spot excluded patrons.
• Coming back is not automatic everywhere. Some provinces reopen access when the term runs out. Others make you complete a course or send a written request first.
• Coverage stops at the provincial border and at the regulated market. No provincial scheme can block a site that the province does not licence or operate.

Province-by-province comparison

The table is built only from the operators' and regulators' own pages, which are linked in the sections below. Where a cell says "not stated", the official source we reviewed did not give that detail.

Ontario: two systems, one province

Ontario is the only province with two separate exclusion systems, because it has two separate online markets.

BetGuard for the private regulated market

The AGCO announced that BetGuard launched on May 14, 2026. It is a tool that lets a person self-exclude from all regulated online gambling sites in Ontario in one step. The Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming set out what operators must do. Under Standard 2.14.1, every operator must take part. iGaming Ontario must offer terms that include six months, one year and five years, and must add a registrant to the registry no later than one hour after registration. Operators must block new accounts and access to existing ones, log the person out once the exclusion is confirmed, take reasonable steps within 24 hours to stop marketing and incentives, cancel and refund outstanding wagers, and have a way to return unused funds.

The centralized scheme does not replace each operator's own programme. Standard 2.14 still requires every site to run its own voluntary self-exclusion. That programme must also offer six-month, one-year and five-year terms and must log the person out immediately on enrolment. If you only want to stop using one brand, the operator's own tool does that. BetGuard is the one to use when you want every regulated site shut at once.

My PlayBreak for OLG

OLG runs its own programme for its land-based venues and OLG.ca. According to the Responsible Gambling Council's summary of My PlayBreak, terms run for 3 months, 6 months, or 1 to 5 years. The programme covers Ontario casinos, charitable bingo and gaming centres, and OLG.ca. You can enrol at a PlaySmart Centre, through casino management or security, or by calling OLG at 1-800-387-0098. Your photo goes into OLG's facial recognition database, and if you are detected at a site you are escorted out. For anyone who registered or renewed on or after September 12, 2022, renewal options are offered before the term ends. If you do not renew, you are simply no longer registered.

British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba: the PlayNow provinces

BCLC's programme is called Game Break. BCLC's Game Break page lists terms of six months, one year, two years or three years. The exclusion starts as soon as you enrol and cannot be cancelled or changed until the term expires, although you can extend it. To come back, you complete the online Game Plan course and submit a return-to-play form. If you skip those steps, BCLC holds you out longer: on a one-year term, you cannot return until two years after you enrolled.

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries runs a separate scheme even though its online casino is also on PlayNow.com. Its self-exclusion page lets you exclude from the Winnipeg casinos and the Shark Club Gaming Centre, from PlayNow.com, or from all of them. In-person enrolment is at Club Regent Casino or McPhillips Station Casino, or by booking an appointment on 204-957-2500 ext. 8468. Online, you go to My Account and then Self-Exclusion. The PlayNow Manitoba exclusion page lists terms of 6 months, 1 year, 2 years or 3 years, with no early exit. Your cash balance is refunded, but promotional funds are lost. Excluding online covers PlayNow.com only. For the venues you have to call the security programs office.

Saskatchewan players use PlayNow.com through SIGA's partnership with BCLC. The official sources we reviewed did not publish the Saskatchewan term options, so confirm them with SIGA or PlayNow customer support before you enrol.

Quebec, Alberta and Atlantic Canada

Quebec

Loto-Québec's autoexclusion programme runs from 3 months to 5 years, and registration is irrevocable. Enrolling for casinos and gaming halls also blocks your lotoquebec.com account for the same period, and you cannot open a new one. Enrolment is done on site with a qualified employee. Loto-Québec's self-exclusion brochure says you can also sign at its Montréal and Québec City offices or at designated help centres by appointment. You agree to have your photo taken, and you are offered free, confidential guidance from a counsellor who works for a firm independent of Loto-Québec.

Alberta

AGLC's self-exclusion questions and answers describe terms of six months, one year, two years or three years. You choose online platforms, casinos and racing entertainment centres, or both. The agreement cannot be modified, cancelled or withdrawn before it expires. During the term you cannot claim a prize in a gaming facility. Your Play Alberta balance can be withdrawn through customer service, and you cannot buy lottery tickets on Play Alberta. Enrolment requires government-issued photo ID, and only you can enrol yourself.

Atlantic Canada

Atlantic Lottery's healthy play tools let you suspend an alc.ca account for 6, 12, 24 or 36 months from any logged-in page. Access does not come back by itself: you have to complete a reinstatement tutorial before the account reopens. Casinos are handled separately. In Nova Scotia, for example, the province's Voluntary Exclusion Program covers Casino Nova Scotia in Halifax and Sydney through its own form. Returning to the casinos afterwards takes a separate application.

What self-exclusion does not cover

The biggest gap is the grey market. Provincial schemes bind only the operators the province runs or licenses. An offshore casino licensed elsewhere is not on BetGuard and does not check My PlayBreak or Game Break. It will usually let an excluded Canadian open an account. Each scheme also stops at the provincial border: excluding in Manitoba does nothing at a casino in Ontario.

• Offshore and unlicensed sites. To close this gap, use device-level blocking software and ask your bank about gambling transaction blocks. Our notes on how to tell a regulated site from an unregulated one explain why offshore sites fall outside any provincial scheme.
• Other provinces. Each scheme is provincial. Ontario's two systems also do not cover each other: BetGuard covers the private iGaming market, and My PlayBreak covers OLG.
• Lottery tickets bought in shops. Online lottery purchases are generally blocked along with your account, but retail ticket sales are not policed the same way.

How a term actually ends

This is where the provinces differ most, and it is worth checking before you choose a long term.

1. Automatic lapse. OLG's My PlayBreak, for registrations since September 2022, ends at term expiry unless you renew. Alberta also lets you return to Play Alberta or sign up again at the end.
2. Course plus form. BCLC requires the Game Plan course and a return-to-play form. Manitoba requires the free Pause and Plan course and a signed letter to Security Services or [email protected]. You stay excluded until you receive written acknowledgment, which may take up to a week.
3. Tutorial. Atlantic Lottery requires a full reinstatement tutorial before an alc.ca account reopens.

Building in a hurdle is deliberate. The pause at the end of a term is where many people decide to renew. If you are unsure, the shorter terms are easier to commit to, and every programme lets you extend or re-enrol. Support does not stop when you enrol: provincial helplines and counselling are listed on our gambling addiction help page, and the broader toolset is on our responsible gambling page.

Practical checklist before you enrol

• Withdraw what you can first, and know whether your province refunds or freezes balances. Bonus funds are generally lost.
• Decide on scope: online only, venues only, or both, where the province offers a choice.
• In Ontario, use BetGuard for private sites and My PlayBreak for OLG if you want both covered.
• Bring government photo ID for in-person enrolment.
• Add bank and device blocks to cover offshore sites.
• Note how your term ends, so that a course or letter requirement doesn't catch you off guard.