A state audit of the Massachusetts State Lottery has found several areas of potential abuse that lottery officials are already taking measures to remedy.

The audit released Thursday found that the lottery did not complete documentation to show it had properly accounted for and ultimately destroyed valid instant game tickets - also called scratch tickets - returned by terminated sales agents.

The audit also found poor monitoring of a practice known as "peeking," an abuse where a sales agent scans unsold scratch tickets to determine winners.

In response to the findings, the lottery has already implemented policies to prevent possible abuse.

Auditor Suzanne Bump says the lottery had $4.73 billion in overall sales and $984 million in net profits in the 2012 fiscal year, making it critical that its integrity is protected.