The program being developed in Butler County to help people with gambling addictions has the opportunity to help county residents in another way.

That is to avoid addiction to gambling.

Once the local program is in place, people who feel they are becoming victims of gambling — whether it’s casino slot machines or table games, playing the horses, buying lottery tickets or spending too much time playing poker — should take advantage of the help that the new program will seek to provide.

Because many new gambling addicts are a product of the state’s casino and lottery industries, it’s appropriate that the money for gambling addiction help is coming from the state’s gaming revenue, not from the county’s general fund budget.

For Butler County for the 2011-12 fiscal year, which began July 1, the state funding will total $269,000.

Under the program, for which planning began in the summer, the county will be working with Adagio Health, Butler Health System, the Center for Community Resources and the Community Health Challenge.

In addition to treatment options that might be available through the effort, the program will offer speaking engagements at senior centers, health fairs, schools and various events.

The program will not target any particular age or population group — a major positive aspect of what has been dubbed Problem Gambling Education/Outreach.

The program will help people recognize and accept the fact that they have a gambling addiction, and the dangers of not addressing it quickly. It also will be aimed at helping individuals avoid falling into gambling’s dangerous grip — a grip that can devastate families from the financial standpoint, lead to marital breakups and even negatively impact job performance.

Some people don’t know where to turn to deal with their addiction. This program will provide that direction.

“At this point, it’s (program) still in the beginning stages,” said Donna Jenereski, director of Drug and Alcohol.

While no one can tell how many Butler County residents might be addicted to gambling of some form, estimates should eventually be forthcoming, based on the number of people who respond to Problem Gambling Education/Outreach’s availability.

With the relatively easy access to nearly a half-dozen gaming sites an hour or two away from this county and lottery tickets being sold at many locations in the area, the number of gambling addicts here might be higher than many people suspect.

The important thing is that the county has taken a proactive approach to the issue and is working to put the local program into effect. There currently is no state law requiring counties to do so, so the county deserves praise for its initiative.

Most people who go to casinos are not problem gamblers; for them it is a form of entertainment. And most people who buy lottery tickets are not problem gamblers; for them it’s just fun.

But it is important to know the danger signs of gambling addiction, and hopefully the local problem will succeed in delivering its information and messages.

It will be money well spent.