Pennsylvania Lottery system upgrade to temporarily impact players’ ability to buy certain tickets

The Pennsylvania Lottery is preparing to upgrade to a new computer system and the transition will briefly impact players’ ability to buy certain tickets, officials say. The transition is expected to take less than a day.

“The Pennsylvania Lottery is working to upgrade vending equipment, improve our technology, and debut many new features that will improve the playing experience for our players — and this upgrade is one part of that effort,” said Secretary of Revenue Pat Browne. “We have a thorough plan in place to make sure next week’s transition to the new computer system has as little impact as possible for our players. This phase of our project is mainly taking place behind the scenes, but it’s a big move for us to improve our business, expand sales, and continue our mission of responsibly generating funding for programs that benefit older Pennsylvanians.”

What players need to know about the planned computer system upgrade:

• The system upgrade is scheduled to start after midnight on Monday, March 18. It is expected to take until late into the day on March 19. The Lottery will post updates on its website and social media channels to inform players when this work is complete.
• Drawings will still occur, but players won’t be able to buy any Fast Play tickets or Draw Game tickets at Lottery retail locations or online. Players are encouraged to purchase their tickets in advance for these drawings.
• Players will be able to purchase scratch-off tickets at the counter and at vending machines at retailers via cash only.
• Players will still be able to play eInstant games online.
• Winning tickets won’t be able to be paid during the transition. For winning scratch-off tickets, players are encouraged to sign the back of their tickets and hold on to them until they can be claimed once the system upgrade is complete.
• No vouchers will be able to be produced or used.
• There may be instances, such as with the Daily Drawings, when results won’t be posted to the PA Lottery website until the system upgrade is complete.
• Claims on winning prizes are taking a few weeks longer to process due to the system upgrade. Processing times should return to normal in April.

More information can be found at palottery.com/upgrade.

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