BetGuard Joins RGC Campus Tour as It Doubles to 40 Ontario Campuses

The Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) is doubling its post-secondary campus tour to 40 publicly funded colleges and universities in Ontario for the 2026–27 academic year, an expansion made possible by iGaming Ontario’s support, with the province’s BetGuard self-exclusion tool built into the program. The two organizations announced the partnership on 23 September 2026.

RGC said the tour will grow from a baseline of 20 campuses to 40 and target 10,000 in-person student interactions. iGaming Ontario is also funding a new element: at least 10,000 Student Education Kits, distributed through campus health services, residence life, wellness teams and student services. Each kit pairs prevention information with a BetGuard information card and a QR code that leads to more information or to opting out.

What students will see

The tour, now in its 25th year, builds on RGC prevention work funded by Ontario’s Ministry of Health. Peer-aged educational ambassadors lead conversations, answer questions and share support resources. This year’s centrepiece is the Random Tower, a life-sized Jenga-style game in which each block carries a message about how gambling and sports-betting outcomes are shaped by factors outside a player’s control.

“With iGaming Ontario’s support, we can now do that on almost all publicly funded campuses in the province,” said Sarah McCarthy, RGC’s chief executive officer. Joseph Hillier, iGaming Ontario’s president and chief executive officer, said: “We’re proud to have recently launched BetGuard, which gives Ontarians a simple option to take a break from all regulated online gambling.”

Neither announcement lists the participating campuses or event dates. RGC directs students, campus partners and treatment agencies to therandomtower.ca for more information.

Why campuses

RGC said young adults aged 18 to 24 are among the groups at highest risk of gambling harm, and cited research finding young people particularly susceptible to harms associated with online gambling. It said about 70 per cent of young people in Ontario attend college or university, making campuses the most direct way to reach the age group before problems take hold.

The legal age for Ontario’s regulated online gambling market is 19, so the audience includes both students who can legally play and some who cannot yet. The tour is an education program. It does not change BetGuard, the age limit or any operator rules.

What it means for students and players in Ontario

BetGuard launched on 14 May 2026. It lets anyone 19 or older opt out of every regulated online gambling site in Ontario, including OLG.ca, through a single free registration at BetGuard.ca, for six months, one year, five years or a custom term. Enrolment blocks existing and new accounts and stops direct marketing from regulated operators. Registration requires government-issued photo ID and identity checks, and nobody can sign up on someone else’s behalf. BetGuard does not block unregulated offshore sites.

Because iGaming Ontario warned on 10 September that third parties were misusing BetGuard’s name, students should reach the service by typing betguard.ca or scanning the QR code on an official kit, not through links shared by strangers. The BetGuard guide covers the sign-up process. Free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day from ConnexOntario at 1-866-531-2600, by text at 247247 or through chat at connexontario.ca; the responsible gambling page lists other services.