Who to call near Gateway Casinos

Questions on gambling, addiction and mental health go to ConnexOntario at 1-866-531-2600. Calling costs nothing, stays confidential and reaches someone at any hour. Those who prefer not to talk have two other routes: a chat at connexontario.ca, or a text of CONNEX to 247247.

Help on this line reaches beyond whoever sits 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. Every casino in Ontario falls under such a break, which can last 3 or 6 months, or a term set between 1 and 5 years. No early ending is possible after it has begun.

Enrolment means a call to 1-800-387-0098 at the OLG Support Centre, a talk with casino staff, or a PlaySmart Centre visit. The rules at the door of 400 Bonin Road are plain: no person under self-exclusion at any Ontario gaming property is allowed inside.

OLG keeps a Virtual PlaySmart Centre, reached by phone at 1-833-888-2306. From 11 am to 7 pm, the line takes calls every day of the week. 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. Through it, one person can block all regulated gambling sites in Ontario together, OLG.ca among them. Its block can be set for 6 months, for 1 year or for 5 years, or for a length the person picks. Casinos people walk into, like the one on Bonin Road, lie beyond it. My PlayBreak covers those.

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