Start with boundaries you can keep
If you choose to gamble, decide on a spending limit and a stopping time before you start. Use money you can afford to lose without affecting essentials. Do not borrow to play, chase losses or treat gambling as income. Choosing not to gamble is always an option.
Notice when it stops feeling manageable
Spending more than intended, hiding play, repeatedly trying to win back losses or finding it hard to stop are reasons to pause and seek support. You do not need to wait for a crisis to look for gambling help in Ontario. Friends and family can also ask for help when someone else’s gambling affects them.
Gambling help in Ontario
- ConnexOntario — Ontario support and service navigation.
- BetGuard — Ontario online gambling self-exclusion. Read the service’s current scope and registration terms.
Use more than one practical tool
Consider a time-out, account limits, self-exclusion, device blocking tools and any gambling-block feature your bank offers. Check the scope of each tool: one operator’s exclusion may not cover another, and an overseas scheme may not apply locally. Ask the support service which combination fits your circumstances.
Age and location
Ontario’s regulated online market is for people aged 19 or older who are physically in Ontario when wagering. Other provinces and territories have their own rules.
Independent support, accurate labels
Gambling Therapy provides international online support. UK-focused resources are explained on our resources page; they are not presented as a local national self-exclusion scheme. Vegasoo is an information site, not a counselling or emergency service. For gambling help in Ontario, contact ConnexOntario.
