How do I self-exclude from online casinos as a Toronto player?

Ontario's approach to online self-exclusion just got a lot cleaner. Since May 2026, Toronto players have access to BetGuard — a centralized tool that lets you opt out of every licensed online gambling platform in the province through a single process, rather than hunting down each operator's individual settings.

How BetGuard works

BetGuard enables individuals aged 19 and older to voluntarily opt out of all Ontario regulated online gaming platforms through one online portal. That's the key practical advantage: one registration, total coverage. By opting out through BetGuard.ca, players are prevented from accessing their existing accounts, creating new accounts, or receiving marketing communications from any regulated igaming site in Ontario.

You choose your term: 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, or a custom term. The process is handled online at betguard.ca, and you'll need to verify your identity as part of registration. iGaming Ontario ensures that individuals who register are added to the Centralized Self-Exclusion Registry as soon as is practicable and no later than one hour after registration. Once you're on that registry, operators shall immediately take steps to log that person out of their account.

On the wager side, the rules are clear: operators must, no later than 24 hours after an individual is added to the registry, cancel and refund that individual's outstanding wager(s) to their player wallet — with a narrow exception for events that begin within 24 hours of registration.

Site-by-site programs still exist alongside BetGuard

All igaming operators in Ontario participate in BetGuard, but operators are also required to have their own self-exclusion program that meets the requirements set out in the Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming. So if you only want to step back from one platform rather than all of them, you can use that operator's own tools directly. At a minimum, operators must provide spend-limit and time-limit setting tools and the ability to take a short-term break or to self-exclude for a longer term.

For most people who want a genuine, comprehensive break, BetGuard is the right call — it removes the risk of simply migrating to a different regulated site.

How to spot a legitimate site (and why it matters here)

Before you self-exclude, it's worth confirming you're actually on a regulated platform. Every internet gaming website offered by a fully registered and approved operator in Ontario will have iGaming Ontario and BetGuard logos displayed. If you see these logos, you know that the website operations are managed by iGaming Ontario and regulated by the AGCO. If a site you're using doesn't show both logos, it isn't part of Ontario's regulated market — and BetGuard won't cover it. Offshore and unregistered sites fall entirely outside this protection framework.

If you decide to sign up for BetGuard, you are opting out of all regulated igaming websites in Ontario — but only those. That's another reason to stay within the regulated market in the first place.

Anyone 19+ in Ontario can register at betguard.ca. If you'd like to talk through what you're experiencing before or after making that decision, ConnexOntario is available around the clock at 1-866-531-2600.