Who to call near Gateway Casinos

ConnexOntario answers questions about gambling, mental health and addiction at 1-866-531-2600. The call is free and confidential, and the line answers around the clock. For someone who would rather not speak, there are two other ways in: text CONNEX to 247247, or open a chat at connexontario.ca.

The line is not only for the person at the slot machines or the tables. It also helps people who are worried about someone else, whether a partner, a relative or a friend.

My PlayBreak is OLG's self-exclusion programme for casinos people walk into. A casino break can run 3 or 6 months, or 1 to 5 years, and it covers every casino in Ontario. Once it starts, it cannot be ended early.

Enrolment happens through the OLG Support Centre at 1-800-387-0098, with staff at a casino, or at a PlaySmart Centre. At 400 Bonin Road, the entry rules are plain: anyone self-excluded from any Ontario gaming property may not come in.

OLG keeps a Virtual PlaySmart Centre, reached by phone at 1-833-888-2306. Calls are taken seven days a week, from 11 am to 7 pm. That window covers daytime and early evening only. For a question that comes later at night, ConnexOntario at 1-866-531-2600 answers around the clock.

BetGuard, at betguard.ca, is run by iGaming Ontario. With it, a person can shut out every regulated Ontario gambling site at once, OLG.ca included. The block can last 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or a length the person chooses. It does not reach casinos people walk into, such as the one on Bonin Road. My PlayBreak covers those.

Some nights bring more than a question about money or play. In a crisis, the Suicide Crisis Helpline answers at 988, day and night. Those three digits are worth keeping in mind before any drive, along with the address on Bonin Road.