iGaming Ontario Warns Third Parties Are Impersonating Its Self-Exclusion Tool

^{iGaming Ontario says unauthorized third parties are misusing the BetGuard name to spread misleading self-exclusion advice. (Image: Alexander Borisenko/Alamy)}

iGaming Ontario warned Thursday that unauthorized third parties are impersonating BetGuard, the province's centralized self-exclusion tool.

The provincial agency said in a notice posted to its website that these parties are using the BetGuard name and branding to make misleading statements about how players can opt out of all regulated online casinos in Ontario.

iGaming Ontario did not name the third parties involved or describe the specific claims being circulated.

Sticking To Verified Channels

The agency directed anyone seeking information about self-exclusion, BetGuard or Ontario's regulated iGaming market to a specific list of verified sources.

Individuals seeking information about self-exclusion, BetGuard and the Ontario regulated iGaming market in Ontario should rely on information found on BetGuard.ca, operator websites listed in iGaming Ontario's directory and OLG.ca.

iGaming Ontario also pointed to its key partners' channels, including Connex Ontario and the Responsible Gambling Council, as trustworthy sources.

Anyone with questions about opting out of regulated online gambling in the province was told to contact BetGuard's contact centre directly.

iGaming Ontario asked players who encounter materials claiming to represent BetGuard or the agency itself to verify them through official iGaming Ontario or BetGuard channels before acting on them.

A Tool Built to Simplify Self-Exclusion

BetGuard officially launched back in May, giving Ontario online casino players a single portal to block themselves from every regulated site in the province at once.

Before BetGuard, players in Ontario could only self-exclude from individual operators one at a time.

The free-to-use tool is open to anyone 19 or older, and once enrolled, users are barred from accessing existing accounts or opening new ones across the province's licensed market.

iGaming Ontario oversees a market that has grown to dozens of licensed operators since it launched in April 2022, and BetGuard was designed as the first tool of its kind in what was Canada's only regulated iGaming market at the time.

A Risk To Vulnerable Users

Impersonation of a self-exclusion tool carries particular risk, since the service exists specifically for players trying to manage or stop their own gambling.

Misleading instructions could send someone in crisis to an unregulated website or leave them without an actual block on their accounts.

iGaming Ontario's response, pointing players back to a defined set of verified channels rather than issuing a broader takedown notice, suggests the agency is treating this as a consumer-protection message rather than a legal action for now.