The Pennsylvania Lottery has upgraded to a new computer system which will offer benefits to players and businesses selling lottery tickets, and improve the back-end infrastructure for the Pennsylvania Lottery.
“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, who heads the Pennsylvania Lottery, a bureau within the state’s Department of Revenue.
“We have a thorough plan in place to make sure this transition to the new computer system has as little impact as possible for our players,” he said. “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.”
As part of the lottery’s modernization efforts, the bureau has already begun upgrading vending equipment at retail locations, with new equipment already rolled out across the commonwealth. The new equipment holds more inventory and features new digital signage.
The transition to the new computer system will be accompanied by a move to new data centers, test environments, communications networks, and back-office systems. Lottery officials said these upgrades – which are all occurring behind the scenes – are key to laying the foundation for future enhancements.
While lottery officials have worked to minimize the impact of the transition on players, there have been some unavoidable temporary inconveniences. During the transition, players were not able to buy certain types of tickets and needed to buy those in advance. Additionally, claims on winning prizes are taking a few weeks longer to process due to the system upgrade. But, officials said, processing times should return to normal in April.
