The Arizona Lottery's brand new retail software and sales terminals aren't working like they should after a software and hardware switch over the weekend.
The Lottery said Tuesday some retail locations are still experiencing problems validating winning Scratchers tickets.
"Arizona Lottery is working tirelessly to restore full functionality to all of our retail partners," Lottery staff emailed KGUN 9 Tuesday. "Players may experience difficulty at some locations redeeming their winning Scratchers tickets. However, those tickets are still valid and we are working to have full functionality back as quickly as possible."
On Saturday night staff began the switch from the old system to the new one. However, on Monday lingering issues at some of the 2,900 places to buy lottery tickets in Arizona caused problems for store clerks and customers.
An Arizona Lottery spokesperson tells KGUN 9 it anticipated some issues over the weekend while stores made the switch to the new machines.
But the lingering bugs are frustrating for store clerks like Brenda Strider who had to call lottery offices for help. “It was going to be fixed and it was fixed, but not all the way,” said Strider, a manager at Quick Mart near Speedway and Camino Seco on Tucson's eastside.
A contractor, Scientific Games, based in New York City, won a bid to design the new program. Its developers collaborated with Arizona Lottery staff during the design and implementation process, according to the Lottery office.
The Lottery office says the new machines can still print and read tickets for games like the Powerball and Mega Millions. This problem exists just with Scratchers tickets, the spokesperson said.
The office adds that winning Scratchers tickets are still winners and customers can simply hold onto them until the issues with the new system are resolved.
