The survey is funded by the lottery and conducted through the state Department of Health and Human Services. The law that created the lottery required the department to measure problem gambling before the first lottery ticket was sold and then after the games began.

The first batch of results from that survey shows that gambling trends haven't changed much.

In December 2005, surveyors asked questions of 1,367 people. From January 2007 through September 2007, they asked the same questions of more than 10,000 people.

In the first survey, 6 percent of those interviewed said they had gambled more than they should have in the previous six months. In 2007, 6.3 percent said they had gambled excessively.

The results are similar to what other states that started lotteries experienced, said Smith Worth, program administrator for the state's Problem Gambling Program. The state's problem gamblers tend to gravitate toward online betting, video poker and card games, she said.

The lottery is a fundraising enterprise -- proceeds benefit education programs and scholarships. But the lottery is also a game of chance in which the odds are heavily stacked against the player.

"There's always going to be people that don't handle things in life," Lottery Director Tom Shaheen said. "I'm not going to say there aren't people who don't handle tickets properly. ... If you can't afford it, you shouldn't play."

The 2007 study eventually will include data from the entire year. So far only survey data through September are available. The study asked questions about gambling in general as well as the lottery. Findings include:

* 30 percent of more than 10,000 respondents had participated in the lottery.

* 57 percent of males gambled; 47 percent of females gambled.

* 58 percent of college graduates gambled; 37 percent of those without a high school diploma gambled.

* 62 percent of respondents with household incomes greater than $50,000 gambled; 37 percent of respondents with household incomes of $15,000 or less gambled.