Responsible Gambling Policy

Last updated: Mar 2024

Please read this Responsible Gaming Policy carefully before using our website (the “Service”) operated by Canada Sports Betting. We provide information related to sports betting, including, but not limited to, reviews of services that offer sports betting online (“sportsbooks”).

The Importance of Responsible Gaming

The rapid growth in legal, regulated sports gaming in Canada has been met with much praise. The new setup ensures safety in the sense of fair odds, secure ins and outs with your money, and a generally positive user experience on your preferred sportsbooks or apps.

We at Canada Sports Betting and across the Better Collective network are big believers in Sports Betting and gaming being a form of entertainment that should be approached responsibly. We see it as a way to add an extra bit of flavour to your sports-watching experience. If that leads to a little bit of extra money at the end of the day, that’s an added bonus.

At the same time, we also believe in not relying in sports betting as a form of income, and certainly not spending outside your means. The majority of those who bet will not earn a profit – the books are still trying to make their own money, after all – and it’s important to keep that in mind when you’re playing.

Responsible Gaming Tips and Tricks

To best enjoy sports gambling responsibly, you’ll want to put yourself in a position to play with minimal concern. That could involve doing the following:

  • Spend within your means. This is by far the most important. Do not put up money that you can’t afford to lose. Any money deposited into an online sportsbook or casino should be considered completely removed from your real-world budget the second you’ve put it in, with no reliance on getting it back.
  • Use limits on your accounts. Regulated sportsbooks in Canada all have the ability to set limits on how much you can spend on single bets or in a specific timeframe. You may not feel like you’ll need them, but a safety net is never a bad thing. You can also use session timers to keep you on the platform for less time, and you can also temporarily lock yourself out of your account.
  • Don’t bet every pick you see. At the end of the days, even the best experts are making educated guesses, not looking into the future. Even the best get into ruts. Tailing the occasional pick that lines up with your hopes, hunches, and informed understanding makes sense. Chasing every pick in hopes of a surefire profit, not so much.
  • Be willing to use self-exclusion if you need it. Along with limits, regulated sportsbooks will also offer self-exclusion, which essentially lets ban yourself from their platforms for a lengthy or even permanent amount of time.

And sometimes, the winning move is not to play. This is especially true if you find yourself going down the pathway of a problem gambler.

How to know you are gambling too much

If you answer ‘yes’ to 5 or more of these statements, you could be at risk of developing a gambling problem:

  • You find yourself missing work, school, or other important obligations to gamble
  • Your reputation has been negatively affected due to gambling
  • You have spent more than you could afford at the time
  • You have gambled specifically to win back funds that you lost earlier
  • You have lost track of time while gambling
  • You have lost sleep due to gambling
  • You have felt regretful after gambling
  • You have tried to solve financial problems with gambling
  • You are not interested in other things because you want to gamble
  • You still have a strong urge to play after a win

Responsible & Problem Gaming Resources

If you want to learn more about responsible gaming or find yourself or someone around you at risk for problem gambling, there are several great resources around, local and global, to guide you onto the right path.

  • The Responsible Gaming Council (RGC): Featured in the above ad campaign that is currently making its way through Ontario, the Responsible Gaming Council is a Canadian non-profit with over 35 years of experience in preventing problem gambling. The RGC helps to set standards and regulations that make platforms and venues safer, and help individuals avoid problem gambling and take action if they get to that point.
  • Connex Ontario: A referral resource that helps those battling with mental health, addiction, and problem gambling, making sure as many resources as possible are available to you on a 24/7/365 basis via telephone, email, text, or online chat.
  • Gambling, Gaming, and Technology Use Program: Developed by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), the GGTU uses the organization’s resources to help people manage problem gambling. They provide education, digital tools and resources, knowledge-sharing activities, and more.
  • AGCO Responsible Gambling: A set of resources and policies directly curated by the Alcohol & Gaming Commission of Ontario, who have set much of the standard for the Canadian regulated gaming market.
  • Canadian Partnership of Responsible Gambling (CPRG): A group of public interest organizations that encourage healthy thinking and decision making in the gaming process, in hopes of sustainable growth and safe play.

Gamalyze Tool

If you’d like to learn a bit about your play style and your risk profile, Better Collective and Canada Sports Betting have partnered up with Mindway AI to create the award-winning Gamalyze evaluation tool. It’s a card game that takes just a couple of minutes to play through, and the results will teach you about your tendencies and allow you to take those into account when playing moving forward.