A budget set at home, before the trip to the casino, is one tool for keeping play within limits. The services on this page are the others.
ConnexOntario, 988 and Credit Canada
ConnexOntario offers free, confidential help 24/7. It can be reached in three ways: call 1-866-531-2600, text CONNEX to 247247, or use the chat at connexontario.ca. The line does not close at night or on weekends. Any of the three is a reasonable first contact.
Some situations are more urgent than a conversation about gambling. In a crisis, 988, the Suicide Crisis Helpline, answers 24/7. Debt and money worries are a separate problem with separate help. Credit Canada offers free credit counselling at 1-800-267-2272. A call there can sit alongside a call to ConnexOntario rather than replace it.
PlaySmart and its centres
PlaySmart is OLG's responsible-gambling site, and it can be found at playsmart.ca. It also works in person: there is a PlaySmart Centre at every OLG casino, run with the Responsible Gambling Council.
For anyone not at a casino, the virtual PlaySmart Centre is open 7 days a week, from 11 am to 7 pm. Its number is 1-833-888-2306. Outside those hours, ConnexOntario answers 24/7 at 1-866-531-2600. Holiday hours should be checked on playsmart.ca.
My PlayBreak and BetGuard
OLG's My PlayBreak is a self-exclusion program for Ontario casinos. A person chooses a term of 3 or 6 months, or 1 to 5 years. A casino break bars entry to any Ontario casino, not just one. Enrolment goes through the OLG Support Centre at 1-800-387-0098, through staff on site, or at a PlaySmart Centre. Once set, the term cannot be cancelled early, so the length deserves some thought before enrolment.
Online play has a separate tool. BetGuard, at betguard.ca, has been run by iGaming Ontario since May 14, 2026. It lets a person exclude themselves from all regulated Ontario online gambling sites, OLG.ca included. Terms are 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or a custom length. BetGuard does not cover land-based casinos: for those, My PlayBreak is the route.
Questions
Is this help only for people who gamble?
Two of these services are not about gambling at all. 988 answers in a crisis, and Credit Canada offers free credit counselling at 1-800-267-2272.
Can a casino break be ended early?
A My PlayBreak term cannot be cancelled early once it is in place. That is why the length, from 3 months up to 5 years, is chosen with care at enrolment.
Is there help with debt?
Credit Canada offers free credit counselling at 1-800-267-2272. For the gambling side of the problem, ConnexOntario answers 24/7 at 1-866-531-2600, by texting CONNEX to 247247 or by chat at connexontario.ca.