Gambling support lines in BC

Gambling Support BC answers at 1-888-795-6111, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Every call is free. Help is also offered online at gamblingsupportbc.ca, at any hour of the day or night. The number stays the same at every hour, so it is worth saving before a late night out.

Any BC resident can use the service, not only the person who gambles. People affected by someone else's gambling can call too, such as a partner, parent or grown child. Someone leaving a casino floor at 2 AM reaches the same line as someone calling in the afternoon.

Every casino in BC has a GameSense Advisor. That includes River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond and the eight other Metro Vancouver casinos in this guide. The advisor is available inside the casino itself, so help does not have to wait until a visitor gets home.

At the door, each person entering a BC casino must show government-issued photo ID. Security scans it and checks it against the list of people restricted from entering. That list includes people enrolled in Game Break.

Game Break is BCLC's self-exclusion program. It covers casinos and community gaming centres for 6 months, 1 year, 2 years or 3 years. The same term also excludes the person from PlayNow.com. Once a term is chosen, it cannot be changed, so its length is worth weighing first.

Private online sites fall outside Game Break. The paid links on this site's home page lead to one such private online casino. It is not PlayNow and is not run or licensed by the province. PlayNow limits and Game Break do not apply there, and complaints cannot go to the IGCO.