Why Tuesday is a bad day to buy a PA Lottery ticket

💲An upgrade to the Pennsylvania Lottery network will take most of Tuesday

💲Payouts will not be made on Tuesday

💲Sales of tickets for Mega Millions tickets are also affected

You will not be able to use Pennsylvania Lottery self-serve machines for most of Tuesday thanks to a scheduled upgrade.

The upgrade to the machines located in many retail locations that sell tickets to most of the lottery's games will be unavailable for play just after midnight early Tuesday morning. It should take most of Tuesday to complete the upgrade process.

Players will not be able to buy tickets for Powerball,Treasure Hunt, Cash 5 with Quick Cash, Match 6 Lotto, Cash4Life and the PICK family of games at lottery retail locations or online,  according to the lottery. Fast Play tickets and Draw Game tickets will also be unavailable on Tuesday.

Aales of tickets for Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing with a jackpot of an estimated annuity value of $875 million jackpot ($413.5 million cash) are impacted as well.

Scratch off tickets can be purchased with cash only at retailers and via vending machines.

Tickets had been available for purchase prior to Tuesday and drawings will be held as usual. However, the results may not be posted to the lottery website until the upgrade is complete.

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A "big move" for the Pennsylvania Lottery

The upgrade will impact the ability for payouts to be made. Claims on winning tickets will take longer than normal until April while the upgrade continues although the self serve machines will return to service.

Secretary of Revenue Pat Browne, who heads the Pennsylvania Lottery, a bureau within the Department of Revenue, called the upgrade a "big move" that will help the lottery improve its business, expand sales and generate revenue.

“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,” Secretary of Revenue Pat Browne, who heads the Pennsylvania Lottery, said in a statement.

According to the lottery the upgrade includes a move to new data centers, test environments, communications networks, and back-office systems that will lead to future enhancements.

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