Ontario BetGuard Self-Exclusion: What It Covers
Use Ontario BetGuard to self-exclude from regulated online gambling. Check eligibility, enrollment, duration, account access, balances, and support.
Last updated on Jul 24, 2026
BetGuard lets an eligible person register once for self-exclusion across Ontario's regulated online gambling market. It is separate from closing an account, deleting an app, using an operator's own exclusion, or excluding from an in-person casino.
Use the official BetGuard registration route
Start with BetGuard's before-you-start page. Registration is personal and includes identity verification. An email to BetGuard or a gambling operator does not complete centralized enrollment.
If your safety is at risk
Use the maintained Canada crisis options if you are thinking about suicide, worried about someone who may be, or facing immediate danger. BetGuard technical support is not a crisis service.
Who can register
The current BetGuard terms define an eligible person as someone who:
- is 19 or older;
- has valid Canadian or United States government-issued photo identification;
- has a permanent Canadian or United States mailing address;
- has a valid Canadian or United States cellphone number; and
- has a valid email address.
You do not need a current or previous gambling account. You must create and register your own BetGuard account; another person cannot enroll you, and you cannot enroll someone else.
BetGuard's FAQ lists a driver's licence, passport or passport card, permanent resident card or residency permit, Certificate of Indian Status, and province or state photo card as accepted examples. It says provincial health cards are not accepted. Check the current BetGuard FAQ before starting in case this list changes.
How to enroll
Check that BetGuard covers the gambling you want to block
BetGuard covers websites and apps in Ontario's regulated online gambling market, including OLG's online iGaming services. It does not cover every gambling site available on the internet, gambling outside this regulated Ontario market, or in-person gambling.
Use iGaming Ontario's regulated-market directory if you are unsure whether a site is authorized. Do not sign in or place a wager to test whether a site is covered.
Prepare matching details and sign out
Have your accepted photo ID, email, cellphone, mailing address, and a device that can complete the identity check ready. Use accurate details that match any existing Ontario online gambling accounts.
The BetGuard terms say to log out of all open Ontario iGaming accounts before completing registration. Do not send an ID image, facial image, password, one-time code, or payment information by ordinary email.
Create and verify your own BetGuard account
Continue from the official before-you-start page to account creation. The current process verifies the email address and cellphone, then uses a government photo ID and facial check to verify identity. The live interface and exact labels may change, so follow the official screen rather than a screenshot or third-party walkthrough.
If the self-service identity check is difficult, call the BetGuard Contact Centre at 416-479-0008 in the Greater Toronto Area or 1-833-776-7171 toll-free in Canada and the United States. BetGuard says assistance is available in English and French. It does not publish contact-centre hours.
Choose the term and complete registration
The current choices are 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, or a custom term between 6 months and 5 years. Read the live terms before confirming. Once registered, the selected term cannot be revoked, cancelled, paused, shortened, or reduced. It can be extended up to the program's maximum.
Save the completion confirmation and record the term you chose. Do not rely on an account-creation email alone as proof that centralized registration was completed.
Allow for matching and add separate barriers
The AGCO centralized-exclusion standard requires completed registrations to be added to the central registry as soon as practical and no later than one hour. Operators must log a person out when they receive a positive registry match. BetGuard's terms do not guarantee that every block takes effect instantly.
Stay signed out and do not place a wager to test the block. Add a gambling blocker and a bank gambling block if those separate barriers are useful to you.
What BetGuard covers—and what it does not
It is designed to cover
- existing account access on regulated Ontario online gambling websites and apps;
- creating new accounts on those regulated sites;
- OLG's regulated online iGaming services;
- regulated sites that join the Ontario market while you remain centrally excluded; and
- operator gambling marketing, incentives, and promotions directed to you, subject to the implementation period below.
iGaming Ontario's operator FAQ says every Ontario iGaming operator participates. Use that market-wide description instead of depending on a copied operator list that can quickly become outdated.
It does not automatically cover or complete
- land-based casinos, Charitable Gaming Centres, bingo halls, or retail lottery products;
- unregulated or offshore websites;
- gambling outside Ontario's regulated online market;
- account closure, data deletion, debt help, treatment, or device blocking; or
- an operator's separate self-exclusion program.
For OLG land-based casino or Charitable Gaming Centre exclusion, review the separate OLG My PlayBreak process. The programs have different scope and terms.
When the protection should take effect
The AGCO standard separates several events:
- iGaming Ontario must add a completed registration to the central registry as soon as practical and within one hour;
- an operator must immediately start logging the person out after receiving a positive match;
- within 24 hours of registry addition, operators must take reasonable steps to stop direct marketing, incentives, and promotions; and
- within that same 24-hour period, operators generally must cancel and refund outstanding wagers to the player wallet, except when the relevant event or series starts less than 24 hours after registry addition.
This is not a reason to keep gambling during the implementation window. BetGuard matching depends on accurate account details, and its terms warn that implementation is not guaranteed to be immediate. If you can still access an account after registering, stop using it and contact both that operator and the BetGuard Contact Centre.
Balances, open wagers, and marketing
Operators must have a way to return unused player-wallet funds, either automatically or after a request. The exact withdrawal or payout route and timing remain operator-specific. Contact the operator if its process requires a request, and do not deposit or wager again to release funds.
The 24-hour marketing control applies to material sent by regulated Ontario operators. It does not promise that general advertising, third-party ads, or unregulated-site promotions will disappear. Administrative messages, complaint responses, legally required communications, and research messages you separately agreed to may still arrive. Device ad controls are a separate layer. For account-specific marketing controls, use the operator's current official settings or support route.
Your selected term and the seven-year protection period
You cannot reinstate during the selected exclusion term. When that term ends, you can extend the exclusion or complete BetGuard's reinstatement process. If you do neither, the current terms keep you centrally excluded during a seven-year extended protection period.
Reinstatement can be completed only after the selected term ends. BetGuard says there may then be an unspecified cooling-off or administrative delay, and each operator may have a separate return-to-play process. Do not assume access or marketing resumes automatically on the date the selected term ends.
If you neither extend nor actively reinstate during the extended protection period, the current terms say BetGuard will automatically reinstate you when that seven-year period ends. Review your status before that point if you want the centralized exclusion to continue.
What BetGuard collects
The registration process can collect a name, date of birth, mailing address, phone number, email address, government photo ID, and facial image. BetGuard's privacy policy says third-party identity suppliers may create a biometric identifier to compare the facial scan with the ID. A failed match can lead to credit-bureau or manual verification.
iGaming Ontario says it does not keep a copy of the facial scan or photo ID. That is narrower than saying the information is never processed or shared: suppliers perform identity verification, while iGaming Ontario, regulated operators, OLG, and suppliers use or share registration and status information to administer the program. The policy also says data may be retained outside Ontario or Canada and contact-centre calls may be recorded.
Read the live privacy policy before submitting. Guarding Gamblers does not collect your BetGuard registration details.
Operator exclusion is still separate
Ontario operators are currently still required to offer their own self-exclusion programs. Registering with BetGuard does not enroll you in an operator's separate program, and an operator exclusion does not enroll you in BetGuard.
If you want both layers, complete BetGuard directly and use the operator's current official control as a separate action. The sports-betting self-exclusion guide includes a copyable operator request. That email template is not a BetGuard registration method.
Ontario support
BetGuard is an access barrier, not treatment. For free Ontario mental-health, addiction, and problem-gambling service navigation, contact ConnexOntario:
- call 1-866-531-2600;
- text CONNEX to 247247; or
- use ConnexOntario's current live-chat route.
ConnexOntario says its phone, text, and chat service is available 24 hours a day, every day. It can help someone concerned about their own gambling or someone else's.
Questions people ask
Does BetGuard close or delete my gambling accounts?
No. BetGuard records centralized exclusion status so participating operators can block access and new account creation. It does not promise account closure or data deletion.
Will BetGuard stop every gambling ad?
No. Regulated Ontario operators must take reasonable steps to stop direct marketing, incentives, and promotions within the program's required window. That does not cover every general, third-party, or unregulated-site advertisement.
Can I cancel BetGuard early?
Not during the selected term. The current terms say it cannot be revoked, cancelled, paused, shortened, or reduced. You can extend it. Reinstatement is available only after the selected term ends.
Does an operator exclusion automatically move into BetGuard?
No. The two programs are separate. Complete BetGuard registration yourself if you want the centralized Ontario online-market protection.
What should I do if a regulated site still lets me log in?
Stop using the account and do not place another wager to test it. Check that your BetGuard registration is complete and that its details match the gambling account. Contact the operator and BetGuard technical support, and keep the registration confirmation and case references.