Splash Coins Responsible Gambling

Gambling should be fun. The vast majority of people who play at Splash Coins do so as a form of entertainment, set their own limits in Canadian dollars and walk away when those limits are reached. A smaller number of people develop a difficult relationship with gambling, and the goal of this page is to give those players the tools and the support that can help them step back before things get worse. We take that responsibility seriously and we have built our responsible gambling programme around the best practice guidance from the Responsible Gambling Council and provincial gaming regulators across Canada.

The first line of defence is the set of tools inside your account. Deposit limits, loss limits and session limits all sit in the responsible gambling section of your profile. They take a couple of taps to set, they are free to use and they can be tightened at any time. All limits are denominated in CA$ so there is no currency confusion about how much you are actually capping. Loosening a limit takes effect after a cooling off period, which is in place to make sure any decision to play more is a considered one rather than an in the moment reaction.

How do reality checks and self exclusion work?

Reality checks are pop up reminders that appear at an interval you choose, showing your current session length and your net spend in CA$. They are a small intervention but a powerful one because they make it harder to lose track of time or money when you are in the flow of play. You can set the interval anywhere from fifteen minutes to two hours, and the reminder appears on screen regardless of which game you are in. You can dismiss the reminder and continue playing, or use it as a prompt to step away.

Self exclusion is the more serious step. You can opt for a cooling off period of one day, one week or one month, or you can apply a longer term exclusion. During any exclusion period your account is locked from play, you cannot deposit and you will not receive promotional communications from us. We recommend that players who are using self exclusion as a responsible gambling tool also register with the relevant provincial self exclusion programme. In Ontario, OLG's self exclusion programme covers provincially regulated gaming sites. In British Columbia, PlayNow operates a self exclusion scheme. In other provinces, your provincial gaming authority will have an equivalent programme. Combining site level exclusion with a provincial programme provides the most comprehensive protection.

What Canadian support organisations can help?

ConnexOntario is a free service for Ontario residents that connects you with mental health, addictions and problem gambling support. You can reach ConnexOntario by phone on 1-866-531-2600, available around the clock, seven days a week. The advisers are trained to listen without judgement and to connect you with the right local service for your situation, whether that is counselling, peer support, residential treatment or a combination.

The Problem Gambling Helpline Canada operates a national support line on 1-888-230-3505. This line is free, confidential and available twenty four hours a day across Canada. Callers can speak with a counsellor directly, request a referral to a local service or simply talk through what they are experiencing. The helpline serves players from every province and territory and can direct you to French language services if that is your preference.

The Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) is a Canadian non profit organisation dedicated to problem gambling prevention and research. Their website at responsiblegambling.org offers self assessment tools, educational resources and a directory of treatment services across the country. The RGC also runs the GameSense programme, which you may have seen promoted at land based casinos in several Canadian provinces. The same principles that underpin GameSense apply to online play.

What about family and friends?

If you are worried about someone close to you, ConnexOntario and the Problem Gambling Helpline Canada both provide support for family members and friends of people with a gambling problem. The conversation about a loved one's gambling is rarely an easy one, but trained advisers can help you think through how to approach it and what to say. It is common to feel frustrated, confused or even responsible for a loved one's gambling behaviour, and speaking with a counsellor can help you separate what you can and cannot control.

Gamblers Anonymous Canada holds peer support meetings in person and online across the country. These meetings follow the twelve step model and are open to anyone who has a desire to stop gambling. Family members of people with a gambling problem may also find Gam-Anon helpful. Gam-Anon is a parallel programme for people affected by someone else's gambling, and meetings are held in many Canadian cities as well as online. You can find local meetings through the Gamblers Anonymous Canada website.

What are the warning signs of problem gambling?

Problem gambling can develop gradually and many people do not recognise it in themselves until it has already affected their finances, relationships or mental health. Common warning signs include chasing losses by playing more to try to win back money you have already lost, spending more than you can afford, gambling with money meant for bills or essential expenses, lying to friends or family about how much you are gambling, feeling anxious or irritable when you are not gambling and finding it difficult to stop or cut down even when you want to. If you recognise any of these signs in yourself, please use the tools in your account and reach out to one of the support organisations listed on this page.

How does Splash Coins protect younger players?

We require age verification for every account and do not permit anyone under the legal gambling age in their province to open or use an account. We use industry standard age and identity verification tools and we carry out additional checks where our monitoring systems flag a concern. If you share a device with younger family members, we recommend enabling parental control software such as Net Nanny or Bark to prevent access to gambling sites. The AGCO and other Canadian gaming authorities also provide guidance on protecting minors from gambling related harm, which we follow as part of our operational standards.