Alberta self-exclusion program, B.C. Game Break and Manitoba: how each works

How does self-exclusion work outside Ontario, and does one registration cover both online gambling and casinos? It depends on the province. The Alberta self-exclusion program, run by Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC), lets you choose casinos, regulated online gambling sites or both for six months to three years. B.C. has Game Break and Manitoba has Voluntary Self-Exclusion. None of them reaches past its own province.

Self-exclusion is a tool, not treatment. If gambling is causing harm to you or someone you care about, the Alberta Health Services Addiction Helpline is at 1-866-332-2322. Numbers for other provinces are in the support section below, and the guide to gambling helplines and self-exclusion programs in every province has the full list. This guide gives general information and is not legal advice.

Does one registration cover both online gambling and casinos?

Only some programs work that way. Alberta's program lets you choose casinos, regulated online sites or both in one enrolment. Manitoba lists the same options, but its brochure says excluding from PlayNow.com alone does not apply to gambling facilities. Saskatchewan and Quebec describe separate casino and online programs, and the sources read for this guide do not say that one covers the other.

Under section 207 of the Criminal Code, a province may conduct and manage a lottery scheme, and these programs are run by or for the provinces. The table shows each one as its own program describes it.

Term lengths overlap, with up to three years offered everywhere and up to five in Saskatchewan and Quebec. What differs is the scope of one enrolment and what happens at the end: Alberta's agreement has an expiry date, B.C.'s break carries on for 12 months unless you act, and Manitoba's exclusion continues until three conditions are met.

Ontario is not covered here. BetGuard, Ontario's centralized self-exclusion program, applies to regulated online gambling in Ontario and is a separate program.

How the Alberta self-exclusion program works

AGLC describes the program as a responsible gambling feature for casinos, racing entertainment centres and online gambling platforms operating in Alberta, and says operators must connect their platforms to it (AGLC, iGaming). The Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC) says sites registered in Alberta honour the decision of anyone who enrols (AiGC, responsible gambling).

Enrolment offers three choices, as the program's website lists them: “Casinos and racing entertainment centres,” “Regulated iGaming platforms,” or both. The choice matters. According to the How it works page, an exclusion applies to regulated igaming platforms “provided you selected the option to exclude yourself from regulated iGaming at the time of enrollment.” Picking casinos and racing entertainment centres only does not exclude you from regulated online sites.

The length is your choice: six months, one year, two years or three years. The same page says that once the agreement is complete you are “NOT able to withdraw from or cancel your agreement before its expiry date,” and the FAQ adds that it cannot be modified.

Timing depends on the kind of gambling. The How it works page says self-exclusion “begins immediately after you've signed the agreement,” but for regulated online sites the FAQ says it “will take effect once processed.” No timeframe is given.

How do you enrol in Alberta, and what happens next?

Registration is online, on the program's website, and only you can do it: “Not even a spouse or family member can do it for them.” You need government-issued identification and a device that can capture a photo. These steps put together what the website says, as read on October 6, 2026. The portal's own screens may differ.

1. Gather your details. The name must appear “exactly as it appears on your government-issued identification.” The FAQ also lists date of birth, gender identity, phone number, email address and information about your gambling play habits, plus employment details if you work in an Alberta casino or racing entertainment centre.
2. Open the Self-Exclusion portal. Registration can be done “at any time, and from any device that can connect to the internet and capture a photo.”
3. Choose what to exclude yourself from: casinos and racing entertainment centres, regulated igaming platforms, or both.
4. Choose the length: six months, one year, two years or three years.
5. Sign the agreement. It cannot be changed or cancelled before its expiry date.

AGLC lists 1-844-468-8034 and se@aglc.ca for help with registration. That is technical support, not a helpline for gambling harm. Another AGLC page also describes in-person options. This guide follows the program's website, which says registration is online.

What happens after you sign

If you have a bet on a future event that has not concluded, the FAQ says you must reach out to the operator, who will return the original wager. While you are in the program, you are ineligible to claim any future prize. If you try to enter a casino or racing entertainment centre before the period is up, you will be removed from the property.

AGLC says it will contact you within 30 days of the expiry date, and you can choose follow-up contacts along the way. When the term ends, AGLC says you may re-enrol after the exclusion period is complete. The website does not describe a course or an application for coming back, so none is described here.

Game Break in B.C.: what it covers and what happens when it ends

BCLC runs Game Break, which its GameSense page describes as a way to “voluntarily and confidentially take a break from gambling facilities and online gambling.” You choose six months, one year, two years or three years, and once you register the break “begins right away for the time period selected and cannot be changed.” The page does not spell out whether you can exclude from facilities or PlayNow.com alone.

You can register in person at “any casino, community gaming centre or commercial bingo hall” with photo identification, by video call with a GameSense Advisor, or online by logging in to your PlayNow account or the BCLC Lotto! app and going to “Take A Game Break.” BCLC also lists a registration phone line, 1-866-815-0222, option 3. That line is for registration only.

During the break, BCLC “will automatically close your existing PlayNow account,” and direct marketing from BCLC and its facility operators stops. Your photo and details go to security staff at facilities. If you enter one anyway, BCLC says you will be escorted out and any jackpot won is forfeited and donated to responsible gambling research.

What happens when a Game Break ends

The ending sets B.C. apart. BCLC says: “If you decide not to take any action after your Game Break period ends, you will continue to be self-excluded from playing until 12 months after your Game Break period ends.” Returning to play takes two steps once the period has expired: complete the Game Plan Course, then submit the Return to Play form. BCLC says it will email you within seven days to confirm when you can return. You can extend a break at any time with a new form. The page names Gambling Support BC for support, at 1-888-795-6111.

Does Manitoba's Voluntary Self-Exclusion end by itself?

No. According to the brochure from Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries (MBLL), dated July 2026, no action on your part means you remain enrolled. Ending it takes three things: the chosen period has passed, you have completed a free course and you have made a written request to MBLL.

MBLL's page about the program says Voluntary Self-Exclusion (VSE) lets Manitobans take a break from “the Casinos of Winnipeg and the Shark Club Gaming Centre in Winnipeg, on PlayNow.com, or all of these.” The brochure adds that exclusion from PlayNow.com does not apply to gambling facilities, so that has to be done separately. The brochure also covers any future facilities MBLL operates. The sources read for this guide do not say whether VSE reaches any other venues.

You enrol in person at Club Regent Casino or McPhillips Station Casino, or by phone at 204-957-2500 ext. 8468 to book an appointment offsite. For PlayNow.com only, you log in, choose “My Account” and then “Self-Exclusion,” and MBLL says the account is cancelled and any unredeemed player cash is paid out. The brochure sets terms of six months, one year, two years or three years, introduced with “a minimum of,” asks for government-issued identification with a photo and signature, and says only you can enrol.

If you break the exclusion, the brochure says you will not be refunded any losses and may not be paid any winnings. The course needed to end the exclusion is “Pause and Plan: After Your Voluntary Self-Exclusion Ends.” Its page describes it as for people who took part in the program and wish to re-enter, and the brochure calls it free. The Manitoba Gambling Helpline is at 1-800-463-1554.

Saskatchewan, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces

Each program's own page has the full rules. The details below are shorter.

Saskatchewan

For casinos, SIGA's page says self-exclusion means a patron is “banned from all casinos in Saskatchewan,” which includes “all seven SIGA casinos and both SaskGaming casinos (Casino Regina and Casino Moose Jaw).” Terms run from six months to five years, and you enrol in person at a SIGA casino or by appointment at the head office in Saskatoon. “An individual cannot enroll someone else,” SIGA says, and a breach “can result in charges and a fine.”

The PlayNow Saskatchewan self-exclusion page says enrolling means you “voluntarily exclude yourself from gambling on PlayNow.com,” for six months or one, two, three, four or five years. It begins right away and “can't be changed”; you can extend it but not end it before the expiry date. The sources read for this guide do not say whether enrolling at a casino also covers PlayNow.com, or the reverse, so this guide describes two registrations in two places.

Quebec

According to Loto-Québec's self-exclusion page, Quebec has three tools: a short break from online gambling of one to 89 days, self-exclusion from online gambling, and self-exclusion from casinos and gaming halls. Both self-exclusions run from three months to five years. Loto-Québec says online self-exclusion is irrevocable for the whole time you selected and that you may re-enrol anytime once it ends. Casino and gaming hall exclusion is irrevocable too, according to Loto-Québec's French-language page, which says you sign up in person, at a casino, a gaming hall or a Loto-Québec office, and can enrol again once it ends.

Atlantic provinces

Atlantic Lottery's Take a Break tool is both a short break and a longer exclusion. According to its Player Tools page, a break lasts one to 90 days or six, 12, 24 or 36 months. “You will be unable to sign in. A break cannot be reversed by you or by Atlantic Lottery.” Future subscriptions are cancelled and marketing emails stop. Casinos and gaming terminals in the Atlantic provinces have their own procedures, which this guide did not verify. For a shorter pause without full exclusion, see how deposit, loss and time limits work.

Where each program stops

AGLC's FAQ answers the question directly. Asked whether self-exclusion extends outside Alberta, it says the program “is only in effect for gambling inside the province of Alberta.” The other programs are provincial in the same way: each is tied to its own province's casinos or platforms. Alberta's program speaks of regulated sites, and the guide to what a regulated site means in each province explains the term. The Alberta program applies to gambling that Alberta regulates and does not reach a site outside that market.

Who runs each program differs. In Alberta the provincial regulator itself runs the program and operators must connect to it. Elsewhere it is run by the organization that also operates the gambling, such as BCLC, MBLL, SIGA, Loto-Québec or Atlantic Lottery.

Only you can enrol, and Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan say so explicitly. Responsibility stays with the person enrolled: Alberta's website says “It is your responsibility to honour the commitment you made to yourself,” and BCLC says “it is ultimately your responsibility to honour your self-exclusion.”

Self-exclusion is not treatment. The Alberta program's website says: “Research has shown that when self-exclusion is combined with professional support, it can be one of the most effective ways to stop gambling.” That is AGLC's statement, and it gives no figure.

Who to call if you want support alongside self-exclusion

These are the gambling helplines named for each province.

• Alberta: Alberta Health Services Addiction Helpline, 1-866-332-2322
• B.C.: Gambling Support BC, 1-888-795-6111
• Manitoba: Gambling Helpline, 1-800-463-1554
• Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan Problem Gambling Helpline, 1-800-306-6789
• Quebec: Jeu : aide et référence, 1-800-461-0140
• Atlantic provinces: the numbers for each province are in the guide to gambling helplines and self-exclusion programs in every province

If you are not sure whether self-exclusion is the right step, Canada's Lower-Risk Gambling Guidelines describe ways to gamble with less risk, and a helpline can talk through the options. Program rules can change, so check each program's own page. The details here were checked on October 6, 2026.

What do people ask most about self-exclusion outside Ontario?

Sources

Facts in this guide were checked on October 6, 2026, unless stated otherwise.

• AGLC, Self-Exclusion Program (program website)
• AGLC, Self-Exclusion Program, How it works
• AGLC, Self-Exclusion Program, FAQs
• AGLC, Self-Exclusion Program (AGLC page; used for the re-enrolment statement only)
• AGLC, iGaming
• Alberta iGaming Corporation, Responsible gambling
• BCLC GameSense, Game Break
• Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, Concerned about your gambling?
• Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, Voluntary Self-Exclusion brochure (PDF, July 2026)
• SIGA, Voluntary Self-Exclusion
• Loto-Québec, Self-exclusion and gambling breaks
• Loto-Québec, Autoexclusion en casino ou en salon de jeu (in French)
• Alberta Health Services, Addiction Helpline
• Gambling Support BC
• Criminal Code, section 207
• PlayNow Saskatchewan (Voluntary Self-Exclusion), Atlantic Lottery (Player Tools) and the Manitoba Pause and Plan course page were read for this guide and are cited in the text. They are not linked because they belong to gambling platforms or are outside the primary-source list.