Gambling should stay a paid-for pastime. If it stops feeling like one, these are the people and tools that help.
Free, confidential help
- ConnexOntario (Ontario): 1-866-531-2600, any time.
- Gambling Support BC: 1-888-795-6111.
- Jeu : aide et référence (Quebec): 1-800-461-0140.
- Alberta Addiction Helpline: 1-866-332-2322.
- Elsewhere, your provincial health line or 211 can point you to local gambling support.
Tools that work
- Deposit limits. Set one in the casino cashier before your first deposit, when it is easy.
- Time-outs and self-exclusion. Every casino on our board offers them through support or the account settings. Offshore exclusions are casino by casino; they do not carry across sites.
- Blocking software. Tools such as Gamban and BetBlocker block gambling sites across your devices.
- Bank controls. Several Canadian banks let you block gambling transactions on a card.
What offshore means for you
The casinos we list are licensed offshore, not by iGaming Ontario or a provincial lottery corporation. Provincial self-exclusion programmes do not reach them, and a dispute goes to the casino’s own licensing body. Weigh that before you sign up.
Warning signs
Chasing losses, reversing pending withdrawals to keep playing, borrowing to gamble, or hiding it from people close to you. Any one of them is a reason to stop and call one of the numbers above.
You must be 19 or older to gamble in most provinces, and 18 or older in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec.