Self-exclusion & BetGuard

What BetGuard is

BetGuard is Ontario's centralized self-exclusion program for the regulated internet gaming market. It is administered for iGaming Ontario (iGO) under the oversight of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), and every registered operator — including Panda Casino — is required to honour it.

Self-exclusion is a voluntary decision to stop yourself gambling for a period you choose. It is not a punishment, it is not recorded against you as a debt or a credit event, and nobody outside the program and the operators who must enforce it is told about it. You do not have to explain why, and nobody will try to talk you out of it.

What it covers

• Every operator registered with the AGCO and operating under an iGO agreement — casino, live dealer, poker and sportsbook — is required to block you for the whole period.
• It covers all your accounts with those operators, on every device, and prevents you opening a new account with any of them.
• It stops all marketing from those operators: email, SMS, push notifications, direct mail, and inclusion in advertising audiences.
• It applies across brands. If one company runs several sites, the exclusion covers all of them.

What it does not cover. BetGuard applies to Ontario's regulated internet gaming market. It does not by itself cover land-based casinos and charitable gaming — OLG runs its own self-exclusion program for those venues — nor OLG's own online site, nor unregulated offshore sites, which are not subject to the AGCO's Standards at all. If you want the widest possible protection, register with BetGuard, register with the land-based program at any Ontario casino, and install gambling-blocking software on your devices.

Choosing a period

You choose how long the exclusion lasts. Longer is not "more serious" — it is simply what you decide you need.

If you are unsure, choose the longer option. You can always ask to return once a fixed period ends, but you cannot shorten one that has already started. If you only want a short break from this site, a cooling-off period may be the better fit.

How to activate it

Option 1 — From your account

• Sign in and go to My Account → Play limits → Self-exclude.
• Choose your period from the five options above.
• Read the confirmation screen, which sets out in plain language what you are about to do, that it takes effect immediately, and that it cannot be cancelled.
• Confirm. We register you with BetGuard on your behalf and close play access straight away.
• You receive a written confirmation by email with the start date, the end date, and how to get support.

Option 2 — Directly with BetGuard

• Go to betguard.ca and complete the registration there.
• You will be asked for your first and last name, date of birth, address, email, mobile number, and identification to confirm who you are — this is what allows every operator to match and block you.
• Once BetGuard confirms your registration, every registered operator, including us, receives your exclusion status and applies it.
• This route works even if you do not have an account with us, and it is the right route if you want to exclude from operators you cannot easily sign in to.

Option 3 — With our help

• Contact our support team by live chat or at support@pandacasino.example and say you want to self-exclude.
• We will not ask you why, will not offer you a bonus or an alternative to change your mind, and will not delay the process.
• We will confirm your identity, apply the exclusion, and walk you through the BetGuard registration.

Immediate effect

Self-exclusion takes effect as soon as it is registered, in line with AGCO Standard 2.3, which requires operators to give effect to a self-exclusion request without delay. There is no processing window, no cooling-off before it starts, and no period in which you can still place a bet.

• Any session you have open is terminated at once.
• Wagering, deposits and bonus claims are blocked immediately.
• Any bet already settled stands. Any unsettled bet is left to settle normally and the proceeds are added to the balance we return to you.
• Scheduled marketing is cancelled before it sends, and you are removed from every promotional audience.
• Propagation to other Ontario operators is automatic through the BetGuard registry.

What happens to your account

• Your account is closed to play for the whole period. It is not deleted — we are required to keep the records.
• You keep read-only access so you can view your transaction history and statements, and download them.
• You can still contact support about your balance, your data, or your exclusion.
• You cannot deposit, wager, claim a bonus, or earn or redeem Momentum points.
• You cannot open a second account with us or with any other registered Ontario operator. Attempts are detected and blocked.
• Your account cannot be reopened before the period ends — not by you, not by our support team, and not by a manager.

Your balance, bonuses and points

If we cannot reach your payment method — a closed card, a changed bank account — we hold the funds for you and contact you at your registered email. Your money remains yours for as long as it takes to return it; there is no forfeiture of cash and no dormancy fee.

While you are excluded

• You receive no marketing of any kind from us or from any other registered Ontario operator.
• You will still receive the small number of messages the law requires: confirmation of the exclusion, the return of your balance, and any regulatory notice.
• We will never contact you to encourage you back, offer you an incentive to return, or tell you your exclusion is about to expire.
• Your exclusion is confidential. It is shared only with BetGuard, iGO, the AGCO and registered operators for the purpose of enforcing it.
• Support is available to you throughout — see the help section below.

If you try to play while excluded

We take this seriously because the whole value of self-exclusion is that it holds when you are least able to hold yourself.

• Any attempt to log in, register a new account, or deposit is blocked and logged.
• If an account is somehow opened — for example under a variant of your name — we close it as soon as we detect it, void the play, and return the net deposited amount where it is lawful to do so. Winnings are not payable.
• Using someone else's identity or payment method to get around an exclusion is a breach of our Terms & Conditions and may be an offence.
• Repeated attempts are reported to the AGCO as the Standards require.
• We will not treat a breach as a reason to lift your exclusion. It stays in force to its end date.

Coming back after a fixed period

A fixed exclusion does not lift automatically. When the end date passes, nothing happens until you take action — which means the decision to return is a deliberate one, not the default.

1. Wait for the end date. It is in your confirmation email. We will not remind you.
2. Apply to return. Contact BetGuard at betguard.ca, or contact our support team, and ask to have the exclusion lifted. Nobody else can do this on your behalf.
3. Confirm your identity. We re-verify who you are before anything is reactivated.
4. Mandatory 24-hour waiting period. After you apply, a full day passes before access can be restored. This is deliberate: it removes the impulse from the decision.
5. Reconfirm your controls. Before your first deposit you must set a new deposit limit. Your previous limits do not carry over, and we recommend setting them lower than before.
6. A conversation, if it helps. Our player-protection team offers a short, optional check-in call. There is no obligation and no consequence for declining.
7. Access restored. You start with a clean account, no bonus offers for the first 30 days, and marketing off until you opt back in.

If you decide you are not ready, do nothing — or extend the exclusion. Extending is always available and takes effect immediately.

Permanent exclusion

A permanent exclusion is enforced by every registered Ontario operator for as long as the program operates. We keep the record indefinitely for that purpose, and for 7 years after the account closes for regulatory audit — see the Privacy Policy.

Lighter alternatives

Self-exclusion is the strongest tool, not the only one. If it is more than you need right now, these are available immediately from My Account and are explained in full on the Responsible Gaming page.

Device-level blocking software — such as Gamban or BetBlocker — works alongside BetGuard and covers unregulated sites that Ontario's program cannot reach.

Your data

Registering with BetGuard means sharing your name, date of birth, contact details, address and an identity document with the program, so that every operator can match and block you. That information goes to the BetGuard program operator, iGaming Ontario, the AGCO and every registered Ontario operator — which is precisely what makes the exclusion work across the market.

We receive back your exclusion status and end date, and use them only to block play, prevent new registrations and suppress marketing. We keep self-exclusion records for the duration of the exclusion and then for 7 years, so a permanent exclusion can be honoured permanently and so we can demonstrate compliance to the AGCO. You can ask for a copy of what we hold, but you cannot ask us to delete it while an exclusion is in force. Full detail is in the Privacy Policy.

Support & links

19+ Panda Casino is operated by TigerGen Limited, registered with the AGCO under registration No. OPIG1337313, offering online gaming in Ontario under an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario.