What a loonie still gets you at Canadian online casinos
By the editorial desk · Offers checked Oct 20, 2026 · How we check
A one-dollar start still exists, but barely. Zodiac Casino gives 80 chances on a jackpot wheel for $1, and Lucky Nugget's homepage offers 40 slot spins for C$1, though its payments table says C$5. Most brands that once took a dollar now ask for C$10. Below: what each deposit level buys, which payment methods accept small amounts, and what you'll need before any win can leave your account.
We earn a commission when you sign up through some links on this page. It never changes the deposit figures, and the order is explained in how we check.
Low-deposit casinos, cheapest first
Sorted by the smallest first deposit that gets you something. Where several casinos share a tier, partner sites may come first.
How to read this list. The deposit is the smallest first payment that triggers the offer, not the cheapest thing the cashier accepts. A star means the figure comes from a comparison site, not from the casino. Ontario residents: these are offshore brands, so use an iGaming Ontario licensed site instead.
Where these offers come from
Nobody here deposited a dollar to write this page. What we did was read each offer on the casino's own homepage or its banking and FAQ pages, from a desktop browser, on October 19, 2026.
That didn't always work. A few Canadian-facing casinos won't load for visitors outside Canada, so for those we opened the most recent Wayback Machine copy of the casino's own page and put the date next to it. Lucky Nugget's homepage, for example, comes from an archived copy dated October 11, 2026. Older than a live page, but still the operator's own words.
One offer rests on a comparison site alone. Casino Classic's 40 chances for a dollar shows up on Gambling.com and not on the version of the casino's site we could open, so it carries an asterisk and isn't counted as a confirmed C$1 deal.
The order is simple: smallest first deposit that actually gets you something goes to the top. Inside the same deposit tier, our partner casinos (KatsuBet, 7Bit and Mirax) may be placed first. We may be paid when readers sign up through those links. You should know that before you click.
Offers get re-checked monthly. The "checked" date only moves when someone has actually looked again. The full routine is on how we check offers.
Offer check log
Every figure on this page traces back to one of these pages. Archived copies open on the Internet Archive.
Then 100% up to $100 on the second deposit and three 50% matches (up to $80, $150 and $150), for up to $480 in total.
This is the offer most people have in mind when they talk about a dollar casino. The 80 chances are turns on a jackpot wheel rather than slot spins, so nearly all of them land on small prizes. Comparison sites quote 200x wagering on the winnings, a figure we couldn't find in Zodiac's own terms. And the minimum withdrawal is $50, so a small wheel win stays in your account unless you add to it.
Second deposit: 100 bonus spins for C$5. Third deposit: 150% match up to C$200, also from C$5.
The nearest thing to a plain dollar slot offer: ordinary spins on a regular game, and the next two steps are cheap too, so the whole welcome pack costs C$11. One snag. The archived homepage says C$1, but the payments page lists C$5 for Visa, Mastercard, eCheck, iDebit and Neosurf, so ask support which method takes the loonie. This page used to list it at 25 spins, and offers rarely get better like that.
No one-dollar bonus at these three, but small crypto deposits go through quickly.
KatsuBet
~C$10
About C$10 entry, crypto or Interac. Our old listing quoted 100% up to C$400 plus 125 free spins; that welcome match needs a bigger first deposit than the minimum.
It sat at number one on the old version of this page with 125 free spins, but it was never a dollar casino. The minimum of around C$10 is a comparison-site figure. Where it fits is if you want to pay in crypto or Interac and don't mind starting at ten.
About C$10 entry, BTC Lightning or Interac. The welcome bonus (our old page quoted 100% up to 800 CAD + 100 FS) asks for more than the minimum.
The homepage promotes Lightning deposits and withdrawals in seconds, and Lightning fees usually cost cents, which suits small top-ups. Same story as KatsuBet otherwise: low entry, no dollar bonus.
325% up to 10,800 CAD + 250 free spins. Spread over the first deposits; the minimum depends on which coin you send.
Our old listing said 1,500 free spins. That number now belongs to Lucky Spin, a weekly prize pool shared between players, not to the welcome pack. Huge on paper, and none of it opens for a dollar. Curaçao licence OGL/2023/147/0081 and 10,000+ games, which suits someone who already holds crypto and wants a big slot library.
40 chances on Mega Vault Millionaire (when shown). Otherwise 100% up to $150, then $150 and $200 on the second and third deposits, up to $500 in total.
Gambling.com listed a $1 for 40 chances offer for Canadian visitors on October 5, 2026. The version of the casino's site we could load shows the match bonus instead. That's why it carries an asterisk: check which offer appears for you before you pay.
100 chances to win $1 million for $5. Up to $475 more over the next four deposits.
Zodiac's sister site in the Casino Rewards group. You pay five times as much for 20 more chances on the same kind of jackpot wheel. It only makes sense if you were going to put in five dollars anyway.
230 bonus spins over 3 deposits. 100 spins on the first deposit, then 50 and 80, each from $20, with 35x playthrough and 7 days to use them.
Listed here before as 40 free spins for $1. That's gone; every step now costs C$20. On the plus side, 35x is a far easier target than the 200x quoted for Zodiac's wheel, so for twenty dollars it's the fairer deal.
These were on the earlier version of this site with one-dollar deals. All five still accept Canadians outside Ontario, but each now asks for C$10 to start.
Casino
What this site listed before
Minimum now
Welcome offer now
Spin Casino
70 free spins for $1
C$10
C$10 minimum; match up to C$400 on the 1st deposit, up to C$300 on the 2nd and 3rd (C$1,000 total) + 10 daily Mega Millionaire Wheel spins
Most lists online still treat "one dollar" as a single category. It isn't. The price of entry has spread out across four rough levels, and the gap between them matters more than the bonus headline.
One loonie
Only a handful of brands still open their welcome offer at C$1. Zodiac Casino is the clearest: your first deposit of $1 gets 80 chances on the Mega Money Wheel, a jackpot wheel whose top prize is $1 million. Lucky Nugget's own homepage (archived October 11, 2026) offers 40 bonus spins for a C$1 first deposit, and these are ordinary slot spins rather than wheel chances. Casino Classic may show 40 chances on Mega Vault Millionaire for a dollar, but only Gambling.com lists that, dated October 5, 2026. The copy of Casino Classic we could load showed a match bonus instead.
Three names, two confirmed by the operator itself.
Five dollars
Captain Cooks, Zodiac's sister site, asks for $5 and gives 100 chances to win $1 million. That's five times the money for 20 more chances, which tells you how these wheel offers are priced. Lucky Nugget's second and third deposits also sit here: 100 bonus spins for C$5, then a 150% match up to C$200 for another C$5. Add the first loonie and the whole Lucky Nugget welcome pack costs C$11.
C$5 is also where many cashier minimums start. More on that under payments.
Ten dollars
Spin Casino, Ruby Fortune, Gaming Club, Jackpot City and Royal Vegas all list a C$10 minimum now, even though older pages (this one included) used to advertise them with dollar spins. KatsuBet and Mirax sit around C$10 as well, though that figure comes from comparison sites rather than the casinos. At ten dollars you stop getting wheel chances and start getting real deposit matches.
Twenty dollars
Grizzly's Quest moved up here. Its archived page from September 18, 2026 shows 230 bonus spins over the first three deposits (100, then 50, then 80), with a $20 minimum on each, 35x playthrough and 7 days to use them.
Deposit
What you get
Where
C$1
80 chances on the Mega Money Wheel
Zodiac Casino
C$1
40 bonus spins (banner; payment table says C$5)
Lucky Nugget
C$1*
40 chances on Mega Vault Millionaire, per Gambling.com only
Casino Classic
C$5
100 chances to win $1 million
Captain Cooks
C$5 + C$5
100 bonus spins, then 150% up to C$200
Lucky Nugget (2nd and 3rd deposits)
C$10
Deposit matches, from up to C$350 to up to C$1,600 in total
Gaming Club, Ruby Fortune, Spin Casino, Royal Vegas, Jackpot City
about C$10
Crypto or Interac entry, welcome match needs more
KatsuBet, Mirax
C$20 each
230 bonus spins over 3 deposits, 35x, 7 days
Grizzly's Quest
Paying in small amounts without hitting a wall
Here's the part the banners skip. A casino can advertise a one-dollar deposit and still have a cashier where most methods start at five. Lucky Nugget is the textbook case: the homepage says C$1, while its payments page (archived May 2026) lists a $5 minimum for Visa, Mastercard, eCheck, iDebit and Neosurf. Before you sign up, ask live chat which method takes the dollar. If they can't name one, you have your answer.
Interac
For most Canadians this is the obvious choice. It comes straight from your bank account, there's no card number to type in, and banks don't treat it like a credit card cash advance. Interac e-Transfer deposits are accepted at Spin Casino, Jackpot City, Royal Vegas, Gaming Club, Ruby Fortune and Lucky Nugget, and Zodiac takes Interac too (processed by PayDirect Billing Solutions Inc.). None of the pages we read put a number on the Interac floor, so check the cashier. Getting money back out through Interac is a different question; Zodiac's Canadian withdrawal list, for one, doesn't include it.
Cards
Debit works more often than credit. Some Canadian banks decline gambling charges on credit cards outright, which is irritating when you're only trying to move a loonie. On the way out, Zodiac pays Visa withdrawals as Visa OCT, meaning the money is credited straight back to the card.
iDebit and Instadebit
Both are bank-linked and both work in both directions. Lucky Nugget lists iDebit at a C$5 minimum and quotes 24–48 hours for withdrawals with either one.
E-wallets
MuchBetter, Skrill and ecoPayz are handy if you'd rather your bank statement didn't list a casino. Zodiac offers Skrill for Canadian withdrawals and quotes 1–3 working days for e-wallets. Lucky Nugget lists MuchBetter at 24–48 hours.
Vouchers
paysafecard and Neosurf let you pay cash at a store and deposit with a PIN. paysafecard is deposit-only, so you'll need a second method to withdraw anyway. Lucky Nugget sets Neosurf at C$5, which rules it out for a one-dollar start there.
Crypto
Fine for small amounts if you pick the right coin. That gets its own section below.
Method
Deposit floor seen
Can withdraw?
Payout time seen
Note
Interac
check cashier
varies by casino
varies
Not on Zodiac's Canadian withdrawal list
Visa / Mastercard
C$5 (Lucky Nugget)
Visa yes
Zodiac 3 working days; Lucky Nugget Visa 1–3 business days
Some banks block credit cards for gambling
eCheck / CAD EFT
C$5 (Lucky Nugget)
yes
Lucky Nugget 1–3 business days; Zodiac 2–3 working days
CAD EFT is free at Zodiac
iDebit
C$5 (Lucky Nugget)
yes
24–48 hours (Lucky Nugget)
Bank-linked
Instadebit
check cashier
yes
24–48 hours (Lucky Nugget)
Bank-linked
MuchBetter
check cashier
yes
24–48 hours (Lucky Nugget)
Phone-based wallet
Skrill
check cashier
yes (Zodiac)
1–3 working days (Zodiac, e-wallets)
On Zodiac's Canadian withdrawal list
ecoPayz
check cashier
varies
varies
Listed by Lucky Nugget
paysafecard
check cashier
no
n/a
Deposit only
Neosurf
C$5 (Lucky Nugget)
check cashier
Lucky Nugget's table says 24–48 hours
Sold as a deposit voucher
Crypto
set in coin, CAD value moves
yes at crypto casinos
varies
Network fee paid by you
Lucky Nugget also lists Apple Pay. We didn't see a minimum next to it.
Crypto and tiny deposits: watch the fee, not the minimum
The person sending crypto pays the network fee. Always. That sounds like a footnote until you try to move a dollar's worth of Bitcoin on the main chain during a busy hour and the fee comes out larger than the deposit itself. You'd be paying more than a loonie to deliver a loonie.
The fix is to choose a cheaper rail. Litecoin, USDT on the Tron network and Bitcoin over Lightning usually cost cents to send. For a small top-up that's the difference between sensible and silly.
There's a second quirk. Crypto casinos set their minimums in coin, not in dollars. So the Canadian-dollar value of "the minimum" drifts with the market. A floor that was about ten dollars last week might be eight or twelve this week. Look at the cashier on the day you deposit and do the conversion yourself.
Now the three crypto-friendly brands on this page, all of them partners:
KatsuBet takes crypto and Interac. Comparison sites put the minimum around C$10. Our old listing quoted 100% up to C$400 plus 125 free spins, which never was a dollar offer.
Mirax's live homepage pushes BTC Lightning deposits and withdrawals "in seconds". That's the useful bit for small amounts, since Lightning fees stay tiny. The minimum is again around C$10 by comparison-site figures.
7Bit's homepage (archived September 30, 2026) shows a welcome pack of 325% up to 10,800 CAD plus 250 free spins, over 10,000 games and a Curaçao Gaming Authority licence, OGL/2023/147/0081. The minimum depends on the coin and we couldn't find a reliable number.
Who is crypto right for, then? People who already hold some and know how to pick a network. If you'd be buying coins just to deposit C$5, Interac is simpler and you skip the exchange spread.
One more thing. A crypto deposit can't be pulled back by your bank the way a card charge sometimes can. Send to the wrong address or the wrong network and it's gone.
What a cheap bonus is really worth
A dollar bonus looks generous because the ratio is huge. 80 chances for $1! But ratios don't pay out. What you can actually withdraw depends on three things: what kind of spins you get, the wagering on your winnings, and how long you have.
Chances are not spins
Zodiac's 80 chances and Captain Cooks' 100 chances are turns on a jackpot wheel. The $1 million top prize is real, and so is the fact that the wheel is built to land on small amounts nearly every time. Lucky Nugget's 40 spins are on a normal slot, where small and medium hits show up more often. Neither one is better in every case. The wheel is a lottery ticket. Slot spins are a short session.
The 200x problem, with a small win
Comparison sites quote 200x wagering on what you win from Zodiac's 80 chances. We didn't see that figure in the casino's own terms, so treat it as an aggregator number until you read the T&Cs yourself. Still, let's work it through.
Say your 80 chances return $6. At 200x, you'd need to bet $1,200 before that $6 turns into cash you can withdraw. Twelve hundred dollars of play to free up six. The house edge takes a slice of every bet along the way, so the usual ending is a balance that drains to zero long before the wagering is done.
And even if you clear it, Zodiac's minimum withdrawal is $50. A $6 balance can't leave the building.
Compare Grizzly's Quest. The same $6 at 35x means $210 of wagering. That's still a lot of spins, but it's a target a patient player can actually hit. The catch there is time: you get 7 days to use the spins, and you're putting in C$20 per deposit to get them.
When a match beats a pile of chances
Once you're depositing C$10 or more, a percentage match usually does more for you than free chances. A match adds bonus money to your own deposit, so you have a real balance to play with and to wager through. Spin Casino's first deposit gets a match up to C$400. Ruby Fortune matches up to C$250 per deposit over three. Those come with their own playthrough terms, which you should read, but you start with more than a stack of wheel turns.
Should you skip the dollar offers, then? No. Just price them honestly: a dollar's worth of entertainment, with a tiny shot at something big. If that's what you want, fine. If you're hoping to build a withdrawable balance, start at ten.
Getting small wins out, and the ID question
Depositing a loonie is easy. Withdrawing anything is where small players get stuck, and it's almost never the casino being shady. It's the rules, all of them written down and none of them on the banner.
The minimum withdrawal
Zodiac's banking FAQ sets the minimum withdrawal at $50, and $300 if you pick a direct bank transfer. Think about what that means after a C$1 deposit. Whatever the 80 chances pay, you need a $50 withdrawable balance before you can request anything. For most people that means depositing more or walking away.
Pending periods
At Zodiac, every withdrawal sits as "pending" for 48 hours, then gets processed the next business day. During those 48 hours you can reverse it, which is exactly what the casino would like you to do. A reversed withdrawal goes back into your balance and, usually, back into the slots. If you want the money, leave it alone.
Lucky Nugget's pending period is 24 hours on every cashout.
After pending, Zodiac quotes these times: Visa and Mastercard 3 working days, e-wallets 1–3 working days, CAD EFT/eCheck 2–3 working days, direct bank transfer 6–10 working days. CAD EFT is free. Direct bank transfer costs $50, or $100 over $3,000. The other methods are free.
Your first withdrawal to a new method
Zodiac warns that the first withdrawal to a payment method you haven't used before triggers extra verification that can take up to 5–7 working days. Add that to the 48-hour pending period and a first cashout can take well over a week. It's annoying. It's also normal, and it happens once.
What they'll usually ask for
Each casino has its own list, but a typical verification request looks like this:
A government photo ID, such as a driver's licence or passport
A recent utility bill or bank statement showing your name and address
Proof that the payment method is yours (a card photo with the middle digits covered, or a screenshot of your e-wallet account)
Sometimes a selfie holding the ID
Upload clear photos, all four corners visible. Blurry scans are the most common reason a check drags on.
"No verification" casinos
People search for them all the time. The honest answer: a licensed casino can let you deposit and play without documents, but it will ask before it pays out, at least the first time or once amounts get large. If a site promises it will never check who you are, ask yourself what else it doesn't check. Do your KYC early, right after you sign up, and the first withdrawal goes a lot smoother.
Province by province
Online gambling in Canada is run province by province, and the rules differ more than most people expect. Here is who runs what, and the age you need to be.
Province
Regulator / provincial site
Age
Ontario
AGCO regulates; iGaming Ontario runs the open market
19+
Québec
Loto-Québec (lotoquebec.com, Mise-o-jeu+ for sports)
18+
British Columbia
BCLC, PlayNow.com
19+
Alberta
AGLC, PlayAlberta.ca
18+
Manitoba
Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries (PlayNow.com MB)
18+
Saskatchewan
PlayNow.com SK (SaskGaming / SIGA)
19+
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador
Atlantic Lottery, PlayALC
19+
Yukon, NWT, Nunavut
no territorial online site in our notes
19+
If you live in Ontario
Please read this one carefully. None of the offshore brands on this page are licensed in Ontario, and iGaming Ontario's rules don't allow unlicensed operators to be advertised to Ontario players. This page isn't aimed at you. If you're in Ontario, play at iGO-licensed sites, where you get the province's player protections and a regulator to complain to if something goes wrong.
Everywhere else
Outside Ontario, each province runs its own government site, and the private brands on this page operate under licences issued elsewhere. Lucky Nugget's operator, Baytree Interactive, holds Kahnawake Gaming Commission licence 01059. 7Bit is licensed in Curaçao. Jackpot City's operator, Baytree (Alderney) Ltd, holds an AGCC licence.
Alberta may be the next to change. The province passed the iGaming Alberta Act in 2025 to open a regulated private market, though we haven't seen a confirmed launch date. Until that happens, PlayAlberta.ca remains the provincial option.
Notice that the government sites share names. PlayNow.com serves British Columbia, and separate PlayNow versions serve Manitoba and Saskatchewan, each under its own provincial body. Atlantic Lottery covers all four eastern provinces through PlayALC.
Age is the other thing people get wrong. It's 18 in Québec, Alberta and Manitoba and 19 everywhere else, including Ontario and the territories. Offshore casinos usually ask you to confirm your age at sign-up and check it properly at your first withdrawal. An account opened under age can be closed without paying out.
Signs a dollar offer isn't what it looks like
None of these mean a casino is dishonest. They mean the banner and the fine print were written by different people. Run through this before you deposit.
The banner says C$1 but the cashier says C$5. Lucky Nugget's homepage and its payments table disagree in exactly this way. Ask support which method takes a dollar, and get the answer in chat so you have it in writing.
Withdrawals can be reversed during the pending period. Zodiac allows it for 48 hours. If you see a "cancel withdrawal" button, don't touch it unless you really mean to.
Free-spin winnings come with a cap on how much you can cash out. Look for a "max cashout" or "maximum conversion" line in the bonus terms. It's common on free spins and turns a lucky session into a fixed small amount.
The bonus you want needs more than the advertised minimum. KatsuBet and Mirax let you in for about C$10, but their welcome matches ask for more.
The offer changes depending on where you're browsing from. Casino Classic shows a dollar deal on Gambling.com and a match bonus on the version of its site we could open. Make sure the offer on your screen is the one you're getting.
The list you're reading is old. Spin Casino, Ruby Fortune and Gaming Club were all once advertised with free spins for $1. All three now start at C$10. Any page still promising them for a dollar hasn't been checked in a while.
The wagering is quoted only by third parties. The 200x figure attached to Zodiac's chances comes from aggregators. Find it in the casino's own terms before you rely on it either way.
Seven checks. Two minutes. It saves a lot of frustration.
Making five bucks last an evening
You won't turn a loonie into rent money. You can, though, get an hour of fun out of a small deposit instead of ninety seconds. None of this is a system for winning. It's just how to stretch the time you paid for, which is the whole point of a small deposit. Here's how we'd approach it.
Decide the total before you start. Not the first deposit, the total for the night. Then set it as a deposit limit in your account so you don't have to rely on willpower at 11 p.m.
Pick the lowest bet size the game allows. Small stakes mean more spins, and more spins mean more time.
Read the bonus terms for excluded games. Playing an excluded slot can void a bonus, and you won't get a warning.
Avoid games marketed as "high volatility" when your balance is tiny. They can go a long time without paying, and a small balance can't wait that long.
Know when the offer runs out. Grizzly's Quest gives you 7 days; others are shorter. Spins that expire unused are money you paid for and didn't get.
When a win puts you near the withdrawal minimum, stop and think about cashing out instead of chasing the next one. At Zodiac that line is $50.
Questions people ask
Can you really deposit $1 at an online casino in Canada?
Yes, at a few. Zodiac Casino's live site gives 80 chances on the Mega Money Wheel for a $1 first deposit, and Lucky Nugget's homepage shows 40 bonus spins for C$1. Lucky Nugget's payments table lists C$5 for most methods though, so ask support which method accepts a dollar before you sign up. See what each deposit level gets you.
Can I withdraw what I win from 80 free spins?
Only after the wagering is cleared and you reach the minimum withdrawal. Comparison sites quote 200x wagering on Zodiac's 80 chances, a figure we didn't see in the casino's own terms. Zodiac's minimum withdrawal is $50, so a small win from the wheel usually can't be cashed out on its own. The worked example is in our bonus maths section.
Are low deposit casinos legal in Canada?
Gambling is regulated province by province. Each province runs its own site, such as PlayNow.com in BC or PlayAlberta.ca in Alberta, and the private brands on this page hold licences issued elsewhere, like Kahnawake or Curaçao. Ontario is different: only iGaming Ontario-licensed sites can be offered there. Check the province table for your regulator and legal age.
Which payment method takes a $1 deposit?
No casino we read names one in writing. Interac is the most likely route, and the pages we checked didn't print an Interac minimum. Lucky Nugget's table puts Visa, Mastercard, eCheck, iDebit and Neosurf at C$5. Crypto minimums are set in coin and network fees can exceed C$1 on Bitcoin's main chain. Our payments table has the details.
Do I need to send ID to withdraw small winnings?
Expect to, at least the first time. Zodiac adds extra verification of up to 5 to 7 working days on the first withdrawal to a new payment method. A typical request is photo ID, proof of address and proof that the payment method is yours. Sending documents right after sign-up saves time later. More in the cashout section.
Can I use these casinos if I live in Ontario?
No. The offshore brands on this page aren't licensed in Ontario, and iGaming Ontario's rules bar advertising unlicensed operators to Ontario players. If you're in Ontario, play at iGO-licensed sites, which come with AGCO oversight and provincial player protections. The legal age in Ontario is 19. ConnexOntario (1-866-531-2600) is there around the clock if you need support.
What's the best low deposit option if I want to use Interac?
Interac e-Transfer deposits are accepted at Spin Casino, Jackpot City, Royal Vegas, Gaming Club, Ruby Fortune and Lucky Nugget, and Zodiac takes Interac too. Of those, Lucky Nugget and Zodiac are the ones advertising a C$1 start. The other five now list a C$10 minimum. Check the cashier for the exact Interac floor, since none of the pages printed one.
Are 80 chances for $1 actually worth it?
As a dollar's worth of fun with a tiny shot at the $1 million top prize, sure. As a way to build a balance you can withdraw, not really. The wheel lands on small amounts most of the time, comparison sites quote 200x wagering, and Zodiac's minimum withdrawal is $50. If cashing out is the goal, a C$10 match bonus usually does more.
Should I start with $1, $5 or $10?
A dollar buys a taste: 80 wheel chances at Zodiac or 40 slot spins at Lucky Nugget. Five dollars gets 100 chances at Captain Cooks or Lucky Nugget's next 100 spins. Ten opens real deposit matches at Spin Casino, Ruby Fortune, Gaming Club, Jackpot City and Royal Vegas. Pick by what you want from the session, not by the biggest number on the banner.
If it stops being fun
Every licensed casino gives you tools inside your account. Deposit limits cap what you can put in per day, week or month. A time-out locks you out for a short break. Self-exclusion closes the door for longer, and the casino has to honour it. Set them up when you open the account, not after a bad night.
If you'd like to talk to someone, these lines are free and confidential:
ConnexOntario: 1-866-531-2600, open 24/7
Jeu : aide et référence (Québec): 1 800 461-0140, or 514 527-0140 in the Montréal area, 24/7 (aidejeu.ca)
Gambling Support BC: 1-888-795-6111
Alberta Addiction Helpline: 1-866-332-2322
Calling isn't a big step. People do it every day, often just to ask a question.