Responsible Gambling

Betting should be entertainment you can afford, not a way to make money or recover losses. This site is intended for adults aged 18 and over. If gambling has stopped being fun, free and confidential help is available anywhere in Canada, right now.

Get help now

Other national services:

• BetStop – the National Self-Exclusion Register: betstop.gov.au
• Lifeline – crisis support: 13 11 14
• Beyond Blue – mental health support: 1300 22 4636
• Credit Counselling Canada – free debt help: 1800 007 007

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 000.

Warning signs to take seriously

Gambling harm builds gradually, and the early signs are easy to explain away. Any of the following is worth acting on:

• Betting more than you planned, or more often than you intended
• Chasing losses – increasing stakes to get back to even
• Betting with money set aside for rent, bills or food
• Borrowing money, or selling things, to fund betting
• Hiding how much you bet from family or friends
• Feeling anxious, irritable or low when you are not betting
• Betting to escape stress, boredom or difficult feelings
• Losing interest in work, study, sport or people you care about

None of these mean you have done something wrong. They mean it is worth talking to someone, and the services above are free.

Practical ways to stay in control

• Set a deposit limit before you start, and use the operator's own limit tools to lock it in.
• Set a time limit as well as a money limit. Long sessions are where discipline slips.
• Never chase. A losing day is a losing day. Increasing stakes to recover is how small losses become large ones.
• Keep a flat stake. Decide a unit you are comfortable losing and stick to it regardless of results.
• Bet with money you have. Never use credit, loans or money that belongs to a bill.
• Take breaks. Use cooling-off periods and account suspension tools between seasons.
• Don't bet under the influence of alcohol, drugs or a bad mood.
• Track your actual results. Most people remember wins more clearly than losses. Written records don't.

Self-exclusion through BetStop

BetStop is Canada's National Self-Exclusion Register. Registering blocks you from opening or using an account with any provincially regulated interactive wagering operator, and stops them sending you marketing. You can choose a period from three months up to a lifetime. It is free, and it takes a few minutes at betstop.gov.au.

Note that BetStop covers operators licensed in Canada. It does not automatically block accounts with offshore operators, so if you self-exclude you should also close those accounts directly and consider bank-level gambling blocks, which many Canadian banks now offer on their cards.

Understand what you are betting into

Every price a bookmaker offers contains a built-in margin, so the odds are always tilted against the punter. That is how the business works. Multi bets compound that margin across every leg, which is why they are the most profitable product a bookmaker sells. Our best odds Canada page explains the arithmetic honestly – knowing it is one of the better protections against unrealistic expectations.

Also be aware of how promotions work on you. A matched deposit encourages a larger first deposit than you might otherwise make, and turnover requirements push you to bet more than you planned. Decide your limit before you look at an offer, not after.

Protecting minors

It is illegal for anyone under 18 to gamble in Canada. If children use your devices, consider filtering software such as Net Nanny or FamiSafe, keep betting account credentials private, and never let a minor place a bet on your account.

Our commitment

We publish responsible gambling information on every page of this site, label advertising clearly, and do not present betting as a way to make money or solve financial problems. We will not knowingly market to people under 18 or to anyone who has told us they have self-excluded.

If you think our content falls short of that standard, tell us at [email protected].

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