Katrina Griffiths
Senior editor
Published on: September 3, 2026
How self-exclusion works in Alberta: meet the GameSense program
Self-exclusion in Alberta is a program that allows you to complete one registration to shut you out of every regulated gambling site in the province at once. You choose the scope (land or online casinos or both) and length of time to self-exclude, and it starts the moment you submit it. Once you are registered, you can’t end the agreement early.
Self-excluding in Alberta falls under two different names, and each has a different purpose. GameSense is AGLC’s responsible gambling program; it includes advisors, information, and a phone line. GameSense offers support and answers questions you might have about gambling responsibly. The Self-Exclusion Program is the formal agreement you sign with AGLC.
What GameSense is
GameSense is a responsible gambling brand that started at the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and is now used under licence by Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis. In Alberta, it covers how the games work, the odds behind them, warning signs, limit-setting tools and community resources.
They also have an associated info line at 1-833-447-7523, staffed by GameSense Advisors who can point you toward treatment resources. According to AGLC standards, every registered Alberta gambling site must display the GameSense number on its registration page and inside the player account.
However, GameSense doesn’t hold your exclusion, although they can answer questions about it. AGLC does, and their self-exclusion page offers a clear plain-language explanation of it.
What you’re signing and how to sign up
Self-exclusion is an agreement, not a setting in your account. That distinction matters, because a setting can be switched off on a bad night and an agreement cannot. That’s why once the agreement is signed, you can’t cancel it.
The first step towards self-exclusion is registering. The program runs entirely online at selfexclusion.ca. You’ll need a valid government-issued ID, an email address, and a phone number, and you must enter your personal details exactly as they appear on that ID. A mismatch is what stops the block from working, since the whole system runs on matching your identity against operator sign-ups.
At sign-up, you pick one of three scopes:
- Alberta casinos and racing entertainment centres.
- iGaming platforms.
- Both.
Pick either of the last two, and you’re excluded from every regulated form of online gambling in Alberta. This includes Play Alberta and every private operator that has gone live since the market opened.
Then you pick a term: six months, one year, two years or three years. You cannot modify, withdraw from or cancel your agreement before it expires, so choose the term carefully. The exclusion begins immediately after you submit it.
Notes on enrolling
Only you can enroll yourself. A spouse, a parent or a friend can’t do it on your behalf, however much they’d like to. If you’re watching someone else struggle, call the 24-hour Alberta Mental Health Help Line at 1-877-303-2642 or call 811 Health Link.
You can also opt in to follow-up contact by email, phone or text while the agreement runs or use it as a check-in and a pointer to further resources.
What happens on the operator’s side?
Under section 34.2 of the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Regulation, a registered operator must not let anyone enrolled in the self-exclusion program enter or remain on its site. Operators are required to meet certain deadlines to ensure the exclusion is done in a timely manner. To make that work, every operator must:
- Hold a live API connection to AGLC’s centralized list of self-excluded people.
- Block you from registering a new account and from logging into an existing one.
- Re-verify its existing players as AGLC updates that list, so an account you opened last year gets caught too.
- Drop you from all marketing and promotional material for the length of the exclusion.
- Give you a way to get the unused balance in your account back when you ask for it.
Open bets are handled based on the date the bet was opened. If you self-exclude before the event your wager depends on has started, the operator must refund that wager. If the event is already underway, it doesn’t, and the bet stands and plays out.
The operators also do the work for you. You don’t need to know which operators you have accounts with. This is because the check happens centrally rather than site by site. Compare this to having to ask each casino to close your account individually, which is what self-exclusion looks like at an offshore site, when it’s offered at all.
Who finds out?
Self-exclusion agreements are confidential. Your personal information is protected under the Alberta Protection of Privacy Act, and access is limited to AGLC and the casino and racing entertainment centre staff who administer the program.
You can name an “Other Contact” during sign-up for accountability. However, AGLC contacts that person only in one circumstance: if you breach the agreement.
One consequence people miss until it’s too late: anyone registered in the program is ineligible to receive a prize in a gaming facility. If you’re excluded, still manage to play, and you win in a venue, you don’t get paid.
Is a full exclusion more than you need?
Three years is a long agreement to sign, and it isn’t the only tool. Alberta’s standards require every registered site to offer lighter controls, also called responsible gambling tools. These are all system-enforced rather than voluntary and work per site:
- Break in play: One day, one week, one month, two months or three months, taken at the operator without any AGLC paperwork.
- Deposit, loss and time limits: Every site has to offer them over 24 hours, seven days and one month, and they have to be easy to find and change.
One detail in the standards is genuinely useful: where you’ve set overlapping limits, the lowest one applies. A tight daily limit isn’t overridden by a looser weekly one. Our player protections page covers the rest of what a registered site owes you.
Conclusion
Decide the scope honestly. If online play is the problem, excluding from casinos alone leaves the door open. If you’re not sure a three-year agreement is the right size, a break in play and a deposit limit are available today and take about a minute to set up. According to GameSense, self-exclusion when combined with professional support can be a highly effective way to stop gambling.
For questions about an existing agreement or a renewal, AGLC’s self-exclusion team can be reached at 1-844-468-8034. If you want to understand who sets these rules and why, we’ve written about who regulates online casinos in Alberta.
You must be 18 or older to gamble online in Alberta. If gambling is causing problems for you or someone you know, the Alberta Health Services Addiction Helpline is free and confidential at 1-866-332-2322, and GameSense has tools and information on keeping play in check.
