National Lottery terminals ran into trouble again last Friday and Saturday, with service interruptions at around 11:15am on Friday morning and again at 15:20pm on Saturday.
In a statement, Premier Lotteries Ireland said its ‘network monitoring systems immediately captured the incident and transferred over to the back-up system, restoring normal service within minutes’.
The National Lottery operator went on to say that while a minority of agents also experienced some service interruption or slow connection speeds after the initial incidents, it has now been resolved and all retailers are back online.
The statement concluded by saying, “The National Lottery extends its thanks to all retailers for their patience.”
However, retail group RGDATA has expressed frustration over the situation, saying that its members feel the system has not been fixed seven months after Premier Lotteries Ireland became the National Lottery operator.
Director General of RGDATA, Tara Buckley said that retailers received substandard technical support during the period in question, saying, “We have complaints from members that their calls are not being answered. One retailer has tried to make contact seven times with no response.
"This is a very poor service for the retail agents who are left explaining to customers that the situation is out of their control.
“It is a disgrace that customers have to be turned away because of these ongoing lottery technology glitches in shops. What is equally frustrating is that the glitches always seem to coincide with large Euromillions or National Lottery jackpots."
RGDATA says it is looking for assurance from the National Lottery Regulator that he is addressing this issue as a matter of urgency.
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan
