Gambling support lines in BC

Gambling Support BC takes calls round the clock at 1-888-795-6111. No call costs a cent. There is also online help at gamblingsupportbc.ca, day and night. Because the number never changes with the hour, saving it before a late night out is wise.

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.

Nobody gets into a BC casino without showing government-issued photo ID at the entrance. Security staff scan the card and match it against a list of people who are not allowed inside. Anyone enrolled in Game Break is on it.

Game Break is BCLC's self-exclusion program. Its terms for casinos and community gaming centres run 6 months, or 1, 2 or 3 years. That same period also bars the person from PlayNow.com. A chosen term cannot be altered later, so the length is worth thinking through first.

Private online sites fall outside Game Break. One private online casino of exactly this kind is where the home page's paid links send readers. PlayNow it is not, and the province does not operate it or grant it a licence. Players there get no PlayNow limits and no Game Break, and the IGCO cannot receive their complaints.