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Responsible gambling

Gambling is entertainment you pay for. Over time the casino always keeps a share of what is bet, and a bonus doesn’t change that. Play with money you can afford to lose, and stop when it stops being fun.

Before you start

  • Set a budget for the week or month, and treat it as spent.
  • Set a deposit limit in your casino account before the first deposit. Most casinos offer one in the account settings.
  • Set a time limit. Sessions run longer than they feel.
  • Never borrow to gamble, and never gamble to win back losses.

Warning signs

Talk to someone if you notice any of these:

  • Spending more money or time than you planned, again and again.
  • Feeling you have to keep playing to win back what you lost.
  • Hiding gambling from people close to you.
  • Gambling to escape stress, sadness or boredom.
  • Borrowing money or missing bills because of gambling.

Tools at the casino

Most casinos offer deposit limits, loss limits, session reminders, time-outs and self-exclusion in the account settings. A time-out pauses your account for a set period. Self-exclusion closes it for longer, and a responsible casino won’t let you reopen it early.

Shutting more than one door

Self-exclusion at one casino leaves every other casino open. A few schemes reach further:

  • Kahnawake Gaming Commission. If your casino holds a Kahnawake licence, you can ask the commission to exclude you from every casino it authorises at once.
  • British Columbia. BCLC’s Game Break lasts six months, or one, two or three years, and costs nothing. Once it starts, you cannot end it early. It reaches PlayNow.com as well as the province’s casinos, bingo halls and community gaming centres.
  • Quebec. You choose a period between 3 months and 5 years under “Manage My Gambling” in your Loto-Québec account. The exclusion cannot be reversed while it runs.
  • Ireland. The Gambling Regulation Act provides for a national exclusion register, but it is not running yet.

Provincial schemes cover the sites and venues they name. A casino licensed somewhere else needs its own self-exclusion, set in your account there.

Free, confidential help

Numbers to call

Canada, by province and territory

Province or territory Number
British Columbia: Gambling Support Line, 24/7 1-888-795-6111
Saskatchewan: Problem Gambling Help Line, 24 hours 1-800-306-6789
Manitoba: Problem Gambling Helpline, 24 hours 1-800-463-1554
Quebec: Jeu : aide et référence, 24/7 1-800-461-0140
New Brunswick: Gambling Information Line 1-800-461-1234
Nova Scotia: Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line, 24/7 1-888-429-8167
Prince Edward Island: PEI Gambling Support Line, 24/7 1-855-255-4255
Newfoundland and Labrador: Gambling Help Line, 24 hours 811
Northwest Territories: NWT Help Line, 24/7 1-800-661-0844
Nunavut: Kamatsiaqtut Help Line, 24/7 1-800-265-3333
Yukon: Mental Wellness and Substance Use Services 1-866-456-3838

In a crisis anywhere in Canada, call or text 988. The national list has the current line for every province and territory.

Finland: Peluuri’s free helpline is 0800 100 101, with a chat as well. Peluuri also runs the online Peli poikki programme and debt advice.

Ireland: the national helpline at Gambling Care is 1800 936 725. The regulator’s get help page also lists the Family Addiction Support Network (042 935 5251), Samaritans (116 123, day and night) and MABS for money and debt advice (0818 07 2000).

Austria: the nationwide gambling addiction hotline of the Medical University of Vienna is 0800 20 5242. Spielsuchthilfe in Vienna counsels people from all of Austria, free and in confidence, on 01 544 13 57. The Finance Ministry keeps a directory of help by federal state.

If gambling is hurting you or someone close to you, reaching out is a strong move, not a weak one.