By Alex Drummond, Editor-in-Chief · April 17, 2026 · Fact-checked by Maya Chen
iGaming Ontario has put a name and a face on the province's centralized self-exclusion program. The agency unveiled BetGuard at the Responsible Gambling Council's Discovery conference in Toronto on Wednesday, formally introducing the platform that will allow any player aged 19 or older to opt out of all regulated iGaming in Ontario through a single process. The system launches in May.
"BetGuard is designed with one simple principle in mind," Joseph Hillier, president and CEO of iGaming Ontario, said at the announcement. "If you need a break from the entire regulated iGaming market, you can take it with BetGuard. Anyone 19 years or older will be able to opt out from all regulated iGaming in Ontario, all at once."
How BetGuard Will Work
The process is designed to be straightforward. Players will create an account on the BetGuard platform, confirm their identity, and then select how long they want to be excluded. The available terms are six months, one year, five years, or a custom duration. Once activated, the exclusion covers every licensed operator in the province, all 48 of them, and their combined 82 gaming websites.
The BetGuard website has already gone live in a preview state ahead of the full May launch. Beyond the exclusion function itself, the platform will provide links to support resources including ConnexOntario and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), making it a gateway to a broader responsible gambling support network rather than simply an on-off switch.
For Ontario poker players, the practical impact is significant. The province's six regulated poker rooms, GGPoker, 888poker, BetMGM Poker, PokerStars Ontario, PartyPoker Ontario, and Bwin Ontario, all fall under BetGuard's scope, as do every casino, sportsbook, and other gaming site licensed in the province. A player who needs to step away from all forms of regulated online gambling in Ontario can now do so comprehensively, without the burden of contacting each operator individually.
The Technology Behind the Platform
BetGuard was built by Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) and IXUP, the joint venture selected by iGaming Ontario through a competitive process in August 2024. The pairing brings specific expertise to the task: IC360 is a global provider of integrity and compliance technology for iGaming and sports betting, while IXUP designed, delivered, and operates Australia's BetStop, the national self-exclusion register that has been operational since August 2023.
The Australian connection is noteworthy. BetStop was the first national self-exclusion system of its kind, covering all licensed interactive wagering service providers across the country. It gave IXUP direct experience building the kind of cross-operator exclusion infrastructure that Ontario now requires. The system architecture had to solve the same fundamental challenge: ensuring that a self-excluded player cannot access any licensed platform, even during technical disruptions or service outages.
That requirement was reinforced earlier this month when the AGCO updated its Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming, tightening the language around operator obligations under the new centralized system. Standard 2.14.1 now explicitly requires that operators maintain exclusion enforcement even during system disruptions, a safeguard that addresses one of the technical vulnerabilities identified during the consultation period.
Industry Reception
The Canadian Gaming Association offered strong support for the launch, while acknowledging the system has been a long time coming. "The operators would have loved it a lot earlier, but we're glad it's here," Paul Burns, president and CEO of the CGA, said. "No operator wants to see a player who has self-excluded on one platform show up on theirs. If we could build a national self-exclusion network, that would be even better."
Burns's comment about a national system hints at a broader ambition. With Ontario being the only province that has opened its market to competitive private operators, a national framework would require cooperation with the provincial lottery corporations that manage online gambling in other jurisdictions. Alberta, which is moving toward its own regulated iGaming market, could eventually become the second province to connect to a centralized exclusion system.
The operators themselves are already familiar with self-exclusion obligations. Every licensed operator in Ontario must provide its own site-level exclusion program, and all operators in the province go through the RGC's RG Check certification process. BetGuard adds a centralized layer on top of these existing safeguards rather than replacing them. Individual operator programs will remain mandatory for at least twelve months after BetGuard launches, ensuring players retain both a universal option and platform-specific fallbacks during the transition.
Context: Ontario's Regulated Market at Four Years
BetGuard arrives as Ontario's regulated iGaming market, which launched on April 4, 2022, passes its fourth anniversary. The market has grown substantially: February 2026 data from iGaming Ontario showed C$8.73 billion in total cash wagers for the month, a 23 per cent year-over-year increase. Total gaming revenue for the 2024-25 fiscal year reached C$2.9 billion, with the market surpassing C$10 billion in cumulative operator revenue since launch.
The province now hosts 48 active operators running 82 gaming websites, a significant expansion from the 18 operators that were live at launch. Peer-to-peer poker, while a small segment at roughly C$59 million in annual revenue, represents an engaged player base that frequently maintains accounts across multiple rooms to access the best tournament schedules and cash game traffic. These multi-room players are precisely the demographic for whom centralized exclusion is most valuable.
Players seeking information about responsible gambling tools available through Ontario's regulated poker rooms can visit the responsible gambling tools page, or contact ConnexOntario at 1-866-531-2600 for confidential support.