What Is BetGuard? Ontario's Online Self-Exclusion Explained

BetGuard is Ontario's centralized self-exclusion tool. It is free, it is run by iGaming Ontario, an agency of the Government of Ontario, and it has been live since May 14, 2026. One sign-up at BetGuard.ca opts you out of every regulated online casino and sportsbook in Ontario, including OLG.ca and any regulated site that launches later. Before BetGuard, you had to self-exclude from each site one by one. Here is how it works, how long it lasts and what it does not cover.

How BetGuard works

When you sign up, BetGuard verifies your identity and adds you to a central registry for the term you choose. Every regulated online gambling site in Ontario checks that registry, and when your details match, it has to stop you logging in to an existing account or opening a new one. BetGuard keeps the registry; the operators do the blocking. The list on BetGuard.ca currently names 77 brands, among them bet365, Bet99, BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, Pinnacle, PointsBet, ProLine+, Sports Interaction, theScore and OLG.

The rules operators follow are set by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). Once you are on the registry:

• Operators must stop sending you marketing, incentives and promotions within 24 hours, and keep it that way for as long as you are excluded.
• Your outstanding bets must be cancelled and refunded to your player wallet within 24 hours, except bets on an event that starts inside that window.
• You are logged out, and you cannot get into your existing accounts or open new ones.
• Unused money in your player wallet is returned to you, automatically or when you ask, depending on the operator.

BetGuard is separate from each site's own self-exclusion. If you already self-excluded from one operator, you are not on BetGuard, and signing up for BetGuard does not enrol you in any operator's program.

How to sign up for BetGuard

• Check that you can sign up. 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 do not need an account with any gambling site.
• Have your ID ready. BetGuard accepts a driver's licence, a passport or passport card, a permanent resident card or residency permit, a Certificate of Indian Status, or a provincial or state photo card. It does not accept provincial health cards. Your ID is only used to verify you and is not stored or shared.
• Log out of every gambling account you have. BetGuard's terms say that staying logged in while you register can affect your exclusion.
• Go to BetGuard.ca, create an account and confirm your identity with your ID and a facial recognition check. BetGuard says it takes a few minutes.
• Choose how long you want to opt out, and confirm.

Only you can sign yourself up: nobody can register a partner or a family member. If you would rather do it with a person, the BetGuard Contact Centre will walk you through it, in English or French, at 1-833-776-7171 (toll-free) or 416-479-0008 in the Toronto area.

How long does BetGuard last?

You choose 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or a custom term anywhere between 6 months and 5 years. You can log in at any time to see when your term ends, and you can extend it whenever you like, up to the 5-year maximum.

Can you cancel BetGuard early?

No. BetGuard's terms say that once you are registered, you cannot revoke, cancel, pause or shorten the term you chose. That is the point of a self-exclusion: the decision you make on a clear day still holds on the harder ones.

What happens when your BetGuard term ends?

Nothing happens automatically. When your term ends, you are not let back in. You stay on the registry for an Extended Protection Period of up to seven years, during which you can choose a new term or ask to be removed through BetGuard's reinstatement process. If you do neither, you are removed automatically at the end of those seven years.

If you do ask to be removed, BetGuard warns that there may be a cooling-off period before you can play again, and each operator may have its own steps before it reopens your account. For 12 months after reinstatement you can go back to your existing BetGuard account and register again; after that you start over with a new account and a new ID check.

What BetGuard does not cover

• Casinos, slots facilities and charitable bingo and gaming centres. BetGuard is for online gambling only. For venues, OLG runs a separate program, My PlayBreak (see below).
• Sites outside Ontario's regulated market. Offshore casinos and sportsbooks that are not registered in Ontario never check the registry, so BetGuard cannot reach them. Stake.com is the best known example; our guide on whether Stake is legal in Canada explains why.
• Other provinces. BetGuard is an Ontario tool. If you live elsewhere, your province has its own program.

The offshore gap is not small. When Ontario's regulated market was announced, iGaming Ontario said that most online gambling by Ontarians took place on websites the province did not conduct and manage. Those sites have no duty to check BetGuard.

Self-exclusion at Ontario casinos: OLG My PlayBreak

My PlayBreak is OLG's own program for casinos, slots facilities and charitable bingo and gaming centres. To register, call the OLG Support Centre at 1-800-387-0098, ask a staff member on site or speak to a Service Coordinator at a PlaySmart Centre. Registration takes a meeting, in person or by video, with photo ID and proof of residence, and your photo is added to OLG's facial recognition database. My PlayBreak also has an OLG.ca option, which you can set up under My Account on OLG.ca or by calling OLG Player Support at 1-855-978-7529. BetGuard and My PlayBreak are separate: being in one does not put you in the other.

Self-exclusion in the rest of Canada

• Alberta: AGLC's Self-Exclusion Program lets you exclude yourself from Alberta's casinos and racing entertainment centres, from its regulated online gambling platforms, or from both, for six months to three years. Every operator in Alberta's private online market, open since July 13, 2026, has to be connected to it, so one sign-up covers all of them. Sign up online at aglc.ca or call 1-844-468-8034.
• British Columbia: BCLC's Game Break covers BC gambling facilities and PlayNow.com for six months, one year, two years or three years. You can register online by logging in to PlayNow, or call 1-866-815-0222.
• Manitoba: Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries runs a voluntary self-exclusion program. Ask casino staff, or call its security office at 204-957-2500, ext. 8468, to make an appointment.
• Quebec: Loto-Québec's self-exclusion blocks you from its casinos and gaming halls, and blocks your lotoquebec.com account, for the period you choose.
• Saskatchewan and the Atlantic provinces: ask your provincial provider, PlayNow in Saskatchewan or Atlantic Lottery in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, about its self-exclusion options.

BetGuard works best as one layer

BetGuard is a strong barrier across Ontario's regulated sites, and it is worth doing. BetGuard itself says it is not a treatment and cannot guarantee that you will not gamble, so it helps to put other protections next to it:

• A blocker on every device you use. BetClear blocks gambling websites with encrypted DNS on iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows 11, using a list of more than 500,000 gambling sites that updates automatically, including the offshore sites BetGuard cannot reach. BetGuard.ca itself is not blocked, so you can sign up with BetClear switched on. No blocker is perfect, because new sites appear all the time. If one gets through, you can report it.
• Your bank. Ask whether it can block gambling transactions on your cards.
• A plan. Decide in advance what you will do when an urge hits, and tell someone you trust that you have signed up.
• Support. ConnexOntario is free, confidential and open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: call 1-866-531-2600 or text CONNEX to 247247.

If you are reading this in the middle of an urge, you can sign up today. iGaming Ontario has to add you to the registry within an hour of registering, and from then on the regulated sites have to keep you out.

Sources

• BetGuard: Frequently Asked Questions, and Terms and Conditions effective May 14, 2026 (betguard.ca)
• iGaming Ontario: BetGuard, Ontario's new tool to opt out of online gaming, is now available (May 14, 2026), and Ontario's New iGaming Market to Launch April 4, 2022 (igamingontario.ca)
• AGCO: Information Bulletin, AGCO Sets iGaming Standards for Centralized Self-Exclusion Program (April 2, 2026), Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming 2.14 and 2.14.1 (agco.ca)
• OLG: My PlayBreak, and My PlayBreak Terms and Conditions (olg.ca)
• AGLC: Self-Exclusion Program, and iGaming (aglc.ca)
• BCLC: Game Break (gamesense.com)
• Loto-Québec: Loto-Québec's responsible commercialization actions (lotoquebec.com)
• Responsible Gambling Council: Where to voluntarily self-exclude across Canada (responsiblegambling.org)