Staying safe
Where to find help, and the numbers worth keeping in Alberta
If gambling has started to cost more than it should, in money, in time or in sleep, the services on this page are free to call (most of them at any hour) and are used to hearing from people at every stage, from a first worry to a debt that feels impossible. Nobody needs to be sure that there is a problem before picking up the phone, and a call made early is usually the easiest one.
If someone is in danger now
Gambling problems and thoughts of suicide sometimes arrive together, and there is no shame in either. If you are thinking about suicide, or worried that someone else is, call or text 988 at any hour; if someone is in immediate danger, call 911.
| Service | For | How to reach it | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline | anyone thinking about suicide, or worried about someone | call or text 988 | any hour |
| AHS Addiction Helpline | gambling, alcohol and drugs, for the person or their family | 1-866-332-2322 | any hour |
| AHS Mental Health Helpline | stress, anxiety, low mood | 1-877-303-2642 | any hour |
| Hope for Wellness Help Line | Indigenous peoples across Canada | 1-855-242-3310, or chat at hopeforwellness.ca | any hour |
| Kids Help Phone | young people, including those affected by a parent's gambling | 1-800-668-6868, or text 686868 | any hour |
| Health Link | health advice and referrals | 811 | any hour |
| 211 Alberta | community, housing and financial services | 211 | any hour |
| GameSense Info Line | how games work, limits, self-exclusion | 1-833-447-7523, gamesenseab.ca | set hours |
| AGLC Self-Exclusion Program | signing up for self-exclusion | 1-844-468-8034, se@aglc.ca | office hours |
| Problem Gambling Resources Network | support, and self-exclusion away from a casino | 780-461-1259 | weekdays |
| Money Mentors | free credit counselling and debt plans | 1-888-294-0076 | Monday to Saturday |
| Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre | scams and fraud | 1-888-495-8501 | weekdays |
Talking to someone about gambling
The Addiction Helpline of Alberta Health Services is the place we would start, because it answers at any hour, it covers gambling as well as alcohol and drugs, and it can refer a caller to counselling in their own part of the province, which AHS provides at no cost. AHS describes the line as "confidential", and a caller can begin with nothing more than a sentence (that they think they gamble too much, for instance), since the counsellor will ask the rest.
GameSense, the province's programme for players, answers questions about how games work, about limits and about self-exclusion, through its "info line" and at the GameSense Info Centres in the casinos (its advisors are not counsellors, although they know where the counsellors are). The Problem Gambling Resources Network, based in Edmonton, offers support of its own and can sign people up for self-exclusion without a visit to a gaming venue, which suits anyone who would rather not walk into a casino in order to stop going to one.
Money and debts
Debts from gambling grow quietly, and the worst response to them is a new loan that is taken in the hope of winning the old one back. Money Mentors, a non-profit agency based in Alberta, offers free "credit counselling" to every Albertan and runs the province's "Orderly Payment of Debts" programme (a plan that rolls unsecured debts into a single payment); we would call it before a "payday lender", a "consolidation advert" or a friend's offer of a loan.
The bank is worth a call too, since some banks can block gambling payments on a card or set lower limits on request (it costs nothing to ask), and a block that someone else must lift is a strong barrier. For rent, food or utilities that a loss has put at risk, 211 lists the "community services" that can help this month, in every part of the province.
Support for Indigenous players and families
The Hope for Wellness Help Line serves Indigenous peoples across Canada at any hour, by phone or online chat, and it can arrange support in Cree, Ojibway or Inuktitut (as well as in English and French). It is not only for crises, and we would not hesitate to call it about gambling, which is as welcome a reason as any other.
For families and friends
Gambling harm often shows first to the people around the gambler, as missing money, "broken promises" or a phone that never leaves the hand. The AHS helpline takes calls from family members, and Gam-Anon (the counterpart of Gamblers Anonymous) runs groups for relatives and friends, who often need support as much as the person who gambles. If you are young and living with a parent's gambling, Kids Help Phone answers at any hour. A child is never responsible for an adult's debts!
Peer support, and barriers that help
Gamblers Anonymous holds meetings in person and online, listed on its own website, for anyone who wants to stop, and a newcomer may simply listen. We would combine a group with "practical barriers": the province's self-exclusion, "blocking software" on phones and computers (some of it free), and handing control of cards to someone trusted for a while.
None of these steps is a sign of failure. They are the same tools that our responsible gambling page describes for people who are still enjoying the game (used more firmly), and the page on scams covers the people who target players looking for a "quick way out".
By the Alberta Casinos Online editorial team · Last updated: November 13, 2026 · Online since 2026