Self-Exclusion — BetGuard

Last updated: 10 August 2026

Self-exclusion is for when you have decided to stop, and you want that decision to hold even when you later wish it did not. In Ontario it is not something an operator arranges privately: it runs through BetGuard, the province-wide programme for the regulated online gambling market.

1. What BetGuard is

BetGuard is the self-exclusion programme operated for Ontario’s regulated internet gaming market. Enrolling once removes your access to every gaming site registered in that market, rather than to a single operator. That is the point of it: an exclusion that covers only one site is an exclusion you can defeat by opening a tab.

It is free, it is confidential, and it is your decision alone. Nobody at MGE DIGITAL CANADA INC. has to approve it, and nobody here can undo it.

2. What it covers

• Every operator in Ontario’s regulated online gambling market, including this one.
• New registrations — you cannot open a fresh account while excluded, and any that is found is closed.
• Marketing from every covered operator, regardless of consents given beforehand.

It does not cover land-based venues, sites operating outside the Ontario market, or products that are not gambling. If you want cover beyond the regulated online market, ConnexOntario can explain what else is available, and a gambling block from your bank or card provider applies across all merchants at once.

3. How to enrol

There are three routes, and they lead to the same place:

1. Directly at betguard.ca (opens in a new window). You do not need to contact us first and you do not need an account with us.
2. From your account. The responsible gaming section links straight through. The tool is not buried behind a support conversation.
3. By writing to us at support@playfallsview.co or to our registered address. We will act on the request and confirm in writing.

You will not be asked to explain yourself, you will not be talked out of it, and you will not be offered something to stay. If that happens, report it through our complaints procedure.

4. Periods available

When you enrol, BetGuard asks you to choose how long the exclusion should run: 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or a custom term.

Ending automatically means the exclusion expires — not that your account reopens by itself. See section 8.

5. When it takes effect

Immediately. There is no waiting period, no cooling-off before the cooling-off, and no processing delay to sit through. This is required of operators in Ontario under the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming, and it is the correct way round: a protective step takes effect at once, while loosening a control is what carries a delay.

From the moment it is active you cannot deposit, cannot stake, and cannot open game content on any covered site.

6. Your account, balance and bonuses

• Your account is closed to deposits and to all play for the period.
• Your balance is returned to you. Self-exclusion does not forfeit money. Withdrawal is subject to the same verification checks as any other, and we will help you complete them.
• Promotional credit ends. Any outstanding wagering requirement lapses and the promotional balance is removed. Your own funds are untouched.
• Pending withdrawals are still paid. Excluding yourself does not cancel money already on its way to you.
• Your records are retained. We keep the exclusion on file so it cannot be defeated by re-registering — see the Privacy Policy.

7. Marketing during an exclusion

You are removed from every marketing communication, on every covered site, regardless of any consent you gave before. This is not a preference setting you have to find — it happens automatically and it is not reversible while the exclusion runs.

8. Coming back after an exclusion

An exclusion cannot be shortened or cancelled once it has started — not by you, not by our support team, not by anyone acting on your behalf. Requests to lift one early are refused, and that refusal is the feature rather than the obstacle. This applies to a custom term in exactly the same way as to the standard periods.

When the period expires, your account does not reopen automatically. You must ask for reinstatement, and there is a further waiting period before the request can take effect, so that coming back is never an impulse either. Reinstatement also requires your identity to be re-confirmed.

If you want an exclusion that runs for longer than the standard periods, set a custom term when you enrol. Choose the length deliberately: you will not be able to shorten it afterwards.

9. Lighter alternatives

If a full exclusion is more than you need, the following are available from your account and are explained in full on the Responsible Gaming page:

• Deposit limits — daily, weekly or monthly caps on what you can pay in.
• Loss limits — a cap on net losses over a rolling period.
• Session time limits — 30, 60, 120 or 180 minutes.
• Reality checks — a periodic interruption showing time played and your position.
• Cooling-off — a short fixed break, from 24 hours up to six weeks, that also cannot be cut short.

Tightening any of these applies immediately. Loosening one is held for 24 hours and then needs your confirmation.

10. If an exclusion is not honoured

If you were able to deposit or play while excluded, or you were contacted with marketing, tell us. Complaints of this kind skip the first stage and go straight to our compliance team — see Complaints and Procedures. You may also raise it with iGaming Ontario (iGO) and with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), which set and enforce the standards this page describes.