Help
When to get gambling help in Ontario
ConnexOntario gives free, confidential help with gambling across Ontario. It can be reached by phone, text or chat, day and night.
ConnexOntario and 988
ConnexOntario offers free, confidential help with gambling, 24/7. The phone number is 1-866-531-2600. Texting CONNEX to 247247 opens the same service by message. A chat option sits at connexontario.ca for anyone who prefers to type. There is no charge for the call, the text or the chat, and each works at night and on weekends.
For a crisis, 988 is the number. The Suicide Crisis Helpline answers it 24/7, on a line separate from ConnexOntario. It is there for moments when safety, not gambling, is the first concern.
PlaySmart Centres
PlaySmart, at playsmart.ca, is OLG's responsible-gambling site. Every OLG casino has a PlaySmart Centre, run together with the Responsible Gambling Council. A PlaySmart Centre is also one of the places to enrol in a casino break, described below.
There is also a virtual PlaySmart Centre for anyone not standing in a casino. It keeps the hours of 11 am to 7 pm, all week long. Its phone number is 1-833-888-2306. Outside those hours, ConnexOntario covers the gap, since its lines stay open 24/7.
Taking a break
With My PlayBreak, an OLG program, someone can bar themselves from Ontario casinos. The term is set at 6 months, at 3 months, or anywhere from 1 year up to 5 years. A casino break bars entry to any Ontario casino, not only the one where it was set up. Enrolment happens through casino staff, through a PlaySmart Centre, or through the OLG Support Centre by phone at 1-800-387-0098. After it starts, the selected term runs to its end and cannot be cut short.
BetGuard, at betguard.ca, does a similar job online. Run by iGaming Ontario from May 14, 2026, it locks a person out of the province's regulated online gambling sites, OLG.ca among them. A person picks a custom length, or 6 months, 1 year or 5 years. Land-based casinos are not covered, so stepping away from both takes both tools. Money worries can sit alongside all of this: Credit Canada offers free credit counselling at 1-800-267-2272.
Questions
Is ConnexOntario free?
Yes, the help is free and confidential, and it runs 24/7. Help is one call away at 1-866-531-2600; texting CONNEX to 247247 and chatting at connexontario.ca also work.
Can a casino break be cancelled early?
No, a My PlayBreak term cannot be cancelled early. The length is chosen at enrolment: 3 or 6 months, or 1 to 5 years. During that term the break bars entry to any Ontario casino.
Does BetGuard cover land-based casinos?
No, BetGuard covers regulated Ontario online gambling sites, including OLG.ca, and not land-based casinos. For casinos, the tool is OLG's My PlayBreak, arranged through the OLG Support Centre (1-800-387-0098), a PlaySmart Centre or on-site staff.