As long as Maine earns money from gambling, in its varied and sundry forms, the state must offer treatment for gambling addicts. Cutting such programs for lack of use isn’t a justifiable excuse for abdicating this arguably moral responsibility.

Here’s what has happened: In November’s budget curtailment, Gov. John Baldacci took $35,000 for gambling addiction services from the Maine Gambling Control Board. “Since (its) inception, very few individuals have enrolled in this program,” the order said. “These funds can be deappropriated without impacting any services.”

Then, in the governor’s budget, this item – and its $50,000 cost – was cut entirely. Now this makes some fiscal sense; technically, since this program was apparently underperforming, it’s appropriation should therefore have been in jeopardy.

There’s little sense in paying for something that isn’t working, right?

Wrong. Not until the question of why these services are underutilized is answered. It’s counterintuitive to think that eight months after Maine’s biggest slot parlor opens, addiction services should cease to be funded.

Stories about problem gaming exist in Maine. They came in spades during last fall’s casino referendum – tales of tragic suicide, embezzlement and family disruption. Anti-casino groups trumpet the self-exclusion list at Hollywood Slots, gamblers who asked to be prohibited from the premises. So it appears the problem exists, as does funding for treatment services.

Where is the disconnect between the two? The state should find out.

LD 833, from Rep. Mike Carey of Lewiston, would earmark state funds from Hollywood Slots for gambling addiction. The Legislature’s Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee, on which he sits, has proposed cutting a vacancy at the gambling board to restore this year’s cut.

Both are sensible, but should come with an important caveat: Spend nothing until an effective addiction program is designed. While there is little sense in funding programs that are not working, there’s absolutely no sense in finding more money just to fund it again.

It’s the right thing to do. Spending, after all, reflects priorities and values.

Maine makes good money from gambling, both from private sources such as Hollywood Slots and public sources such as the lottery. And there are bills before lawmakers this session to further expand gaming, at harness racing tracks and maybe, again, in Oxford County.

Cutting gambling addiction treatment against this backdrop is a moral incongruity. We can take the money, but not treat those suffering from its ills? If gambling was so harmless, we wouldn’t have gone through the hand-wringing and soul-searching of the repeated referendums.

It isn’t. We know it can tear families apart and knock people down, and as long as the state profits from it, it must provide the means to help pick them back up.