Help and Breaks Near Gateway Casinos

Ontario's help line covering mental health, addiction and problem gambling is ConnexOntario. Calls to 1-866-531-2600 are free and confidential, any hour of the day.

Calling is not the only way in. Text CONNEX to 247247, or open a chat at connexontario.ca if typing feels easier than talking. Put the number in your phone before you leave home, right next to the casino's own line.

My PlayBreak is OLG's self-exclusion program for casinos. You choose a break of 3 or 6 months, or 1 to 5 years. It bars entry to every Ontario casino, not just the one on Bay Street. Once chosen, the term cannot be shortened, so pick a length you can live with.

Sign-up is possible by phone at 1-800-387-0098 (the OLG Support Centre), through casino staff, or at a PlaySmart Centre. The Bay Street casino turns away anyone who is self-excluded or trespassed, whether from this venue or from any gaming property in Ontario.

OLG's Virtual PlaySmart Centre answers at 1-833-888-2306. It runs 7 days a week, from 11 am to 7 pm. That makes it a daytime call, handy for planning before an evening rather than during one. Late at night, ConnexOntario is the line that answers.

iGaming Ontario operates BetGuard (betguard.ca). A single enrolment blocks you from all regulated Ontario online gambling sites in one step, including OLG.ca. Choices are a custom length, 1 year, 5 years or 6 months. Walk-in casinos, such as the Bay Street venue, fall outside it; My PlayBreak handles those.

ConnexOntario also helps people who are worried about someone else's gambling, on the same number: 1-866-531-2600. A call can come first, before you raise anything with them. A general tip, not a rule: choose a calm moment for that talk. The end of a night at the casino is rarely that moment. For shared evenings out, agreeing on a spending limit beforehand and leaving bank cards at home can take some pressure off.