BOILING SPRINGS, Pa. -- They are described as addicts, liars, cheaters, schemers and thieves unable to control themselves, and nobody has done a thing to identify them, let alone treat them.

That neglect of the state's compulsive gambling population is about to come to an end, based on comments last week at the first major gambling addiction conference of the Pennsylvania Health Department.

The great irony of the arrival of the big, bad casinos in Pennsylvania -- opposed by a substantial minority who fear spinoff effects from problem gambling -- is they have spawned the first serious government effort to help people who could have overspent all along on the state lottery, racetracks, out-of-state casinos and illegal gambling opportunities.

For decades, wagers on any or all of the above have ruined a small percentage of households. Placing slot machines within an easy drive of most Pennsylvanians only increases the number of people likely to have similar problems. It also provides the first funding, through a minimum $1.5 million annual allocation from slots revenues, for gambling treatment and education under the Health Department's Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

The consensus among certified addiction counselors, licensed social workers and other therapists undergoing the five days of free training at the Allenberry Resort Inn in Cumberland County was they could have recognized and helped pathological gamblers for years -- if only they'd known how to look, and if only someone had provided funding for it.

"We don't do anything" about gambling issues now, said Janet Janeck, legal director for SafeNet, an Erie domestic violence program. "I feel like we're where we were 20 years ago for drugs and alcohol. ... Are we just opening our eyes? Yeah."

More than 150 attendees at the resort nestled in central Pennsylvania's rolling farmland -- many miles from any gambling chance except a convenience store lottery machine -- used the training as the first step toward being certified to treat the 3 percent of the population estimated to have serious gambling issues.

Roaming from class to class while tolerating the strong odor of manure from freshly fertilized fields, the future gambling therapists heard how the growing pervasiveness of wagering in American culture -- by televised and Internet poker, March Madness pools and other means -- makes it all the more difficult to rid addicted individuals of their habits. Even a friendly, no-cash Texas Hold 'Em game among a group of male conference attendees caused a stir among some other participants.

Bill Foreman, a mental health therapist from California, Pa., was only too happy to educate some colleagues from Erie who had never played the popular form of poker and thought they should understand it, to better relate to clients. Therapists at the conference were divided about how negatively to view gambling, and Mr. Foreman, 36, was among those who saw nothing wrong with it, in moderation.

"We can help that 4 to 6 percent who need it, but there's still that 94 to 96 percent who should have an opportunity to do something they enjoy," Mr. Foreman said, exasperated by some attendees, mostly older females, who were critical.

In one session on how to counsel gamblers about financial issues, trainer Jim Aiello, executive vice president with Gateway Rehabilitation Center, advised the therapists they had to muzzle any of their own opinions about gambling in order to help clients who were out of control.

"We're not talking about something like 'Reefer Madness' here. We're not closing everything down," said Mr. Aiello, who somehow never took to gambling himself despite being able to win $380 on a racetrack Daily Double bet as a teenager in 1958. His agency sent two other staff members to the conference to start a process toward national gambling treatment certification, which could enable state reimbursement for services for the first time.

Among the other participants attending workshops were many from Erie County, where Western Pennsylvania's first slots parlor opened this year; from Washington County, where the next is to open at The Meadows by early June; and from Pittsburgh, where the third is supposed to open in 2008.

Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic in Oakland sent several staff members to receive their first gambling training. Family Links, Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services, Jewish Family & Children's Services, Turtle Creek Valley Mental Health/Mental Retardation and Crossroads Counseling & Consulting Associates were among other local agencies represented.

"Hopefully, we will incorporate something into our assessments now to deal with gambling," said Wilhelmenia Oakley, a drug and alcohol therapist for Family Links in the city's Allentown section. She and others expressed concern about the recent or pending arrival of casinos, although they were told it might be two or more years before any increased gambling addiction problems are evident.

"The ones you're going to see the rate go up among in Pittsburgh is the poor, who haven't been able to travel elsewhere to gamble," Ms. Oakley suggested.

A number of key points were repeated throughout the week to help people familiar with drug and alcohol clients understand the distinct issues of gamblers:

There's a large amount of overlap, or co-dependency, among problem gambling and drug and alcohol abuse, and dealing with just one issue alone can create substitution of one harmful vice for another.

Extreme family difficulties are more common with gamblers because of the household harm they generate by going through their relatives' bank accounts, college funds, retirement plans and the like.

Gambling addicts have even more difficulty licking their problem than do those who use drugs and alcohol, with a relapse rate estimated at 97 percent among those who try to stop.

Because of that high recidivism, the therapists were counseled to take a softer approach to gamblers than they do with drug and alcohol clients. Rather than requiring abstinence, a "harm reduction" theory tries to coax addicted gamblers to reduce time spent wagering and the amounts they're willing to risk.

"Harm reduction recognizes abstinence is an ideal outcome but acknowledges alternatives," said Michael Chevalier, a trainer who is a consultant to Erie County's Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. "Are we being realistic here? Yeah. ... We can't have it be all or nothing."

Class leaders stressed that nine out of 10 Americans are able to be social gamblers, playing slots, cards, bingo, lotteries, sports pools and casino games for fun and knowing to stop when they've reached some dollar limit they set beforehand. Another fraction are professional gamblers, who also won't require any treatment, because they handle wagering as an unemotional job.

Although research estimates of gambling addiction can vary, the attendees were told that about 1 percent of American adults were in the worst category of pathological gamblers; another 2 percent were in a problem group where the compulsion was disrupting their lives; and another 7 to 8 percent showed tendencies to risk falling into one of those categories.

The pathological or problem gamblers fall into two categories:

Action/skill gamblers, generally competitive men who learn gambling at a young age and become horse handicappers, card players or sports bettors believing they can overcome house odds and ride their knowledge to riches.

Escape/luck bettors, who are more often women or older men who take up the slots, bingo, lottery or other games of random luck to relieve stress or boredom. These are the new compulsive gamblers more likely to be created by Pennsylvania's infusion of tens of thousands of slot machines.

In either category, the gamblers are unrealistic about their chances of winning; risk more than they can afford; will wreck relationships and careers to obtain the money they need for their habit; and will chase after their losses, digging a deeper hole. Gambling has a higher rate of depression and suicide than does other addictions.

"The slots will appeal to a type of gambler who has not had easy access to a highly addictive form of gambling," said Joanna Franklin, who set up the conference's training program as a staff consultant for the Compulsive Gambling Council of Pennsylvania. "With slots and lottery players, it takes just six to 24 months for them to crash and burn."

Gene Boyle, director of the state's Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs, said that with less than half of the state's casinos open yet, and with none active for more than a half a year, increased gambling problems aren't yet evident. "It'll take a couple years for all this to settle out," he said, but he expects treatment programs to be in place by the time they're needed.

He intends that by summer, the first funds for outpatient treatment could be released to those providers who have become certified gambling counselors. At least $1 million of the annual funding from casino revenue will be used for treatment, with the rest spent on education, research and a referral phone line, Mr. Boyle said. Down the road, funding may be allocated for two or three residential gambling treatment programs, as some states have done.

In the meantime, casinos are required to train their own employees on problem gambling issues and put out information to patrons about how to get help. Thirteen weekly Gamblers Anonymous meetings held around Western Pennsylvania serve as the primary source of assistance for people now.

Also, compulsive gamblers can sign themselves up with the Gaming Control Board to be placed on a self-exclusion list and kept out of casinos. About 50 have done so in Pennsylvania, and they face arrest for trespassing and return of any winnings if they are caught on a casino floor.