Taking a pause from gambling in BC

The line that stays open

At 3 AM, the help line still answers. Gambling Support BC takes calls at 1-888-795-6111, 24/7, and the call is free. This provincial government program serves any BC resident struggling because of gambling, whether their own or a loved one's.

Each call reaches a navigator. The navigator can offer immediate help, locate nearby services or link the caller with a free counsellor. The help can start during that first call. The line is multilingual.

Counselling through Gambling Support BC is free for BC residents. It is short-term treatment, given by qualified professionals. Online requests are also accepted at gamblingsupportline.ca, day or night, whatever the hour.

Inside every casino

In British Columbia, each casino offers a GameSense Advisor to anyone experiencing harm from gambling. That includes the nine Metro Vancouver rooms in this guide, from Grand Villa Casino Burnaby to Cascades Casino Langley.

From June 26, 2023, anyone who enters a B.C. casino presents government-issued photo ID at the door. Security staff scan the card and match it against a register of people not allowed inside, Game Break enrollees among them. The system stores no personal details about the people it lets through.

Game Break, a pause by choice

Game Break, BC's self-exclusion program, is free and voluntary. Each person chooses a 6-month, 1-year, 2-year or 3-year length. After that choice, the term stays fixed.

Enrolment happens in one of two ways. A person meets a registered gaming worker in person at a gaming facility, or a BCLC employee by electronic means.

It applies to entering BC gaming facilities and playing there, and to play on PlayNow.com. Private online casinos fall outside it. The home page's paid links send readers to a private casino of this kind, outside the reach of Game Break.