California is home to nearly 1 million problem gamblers, according to a study released by the state on Tuesday.

The state Office of Problem and Pathological Gambling commissioned the 2006 California Problem Gambling Prevalence Study. The research was conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

According to the report, 58 percent of Californians engaged in some form of gambling in 2006. About 28 percent said they visited a casino last year compared to 44 percent who said they played the lottery.

Of the people who visited a casino in 2006, nearly half said they went to a gaming facility in California with the other half said they went to Nevada. California has over 50 tribal casinos.

Revenues from tribal casinos fully fund the state's problem gambling office, whose budget is about $3 million.

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Problem gambling's toll (The Riverside Press-Enterprise 1/31)
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