Julie Thompson
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Lottery Security Manager, North Dakota Lottery
Julie Thompson plays a wide-ranging role at the North Dakota Lottery, with responsibilities spanning technology, cybersecurity, draw operations, regulatory compliance and investigations. In each of these areas, she plays an important part in protecting the security and integrity of the Lottery’s games, systems and operations.
Julie is responsible for drafting RFPs for the Lottery’s central gaming system, internal control system and online application, and coordinating the design, testing and implementation of its internal control system network. She also directs user acceptance testing to ensure new systems and implementations work as intended.
Cybersecurity is another critical component of her role. Julie works to mitigate threats including system penetration, data breaches and data loss while safeguarding the Lottery’s systems, networks, firewalls and data. She also oversees draw management, including training draw staff, coordinating changes to the Multi-State Lottery Association reporting system, analyzing pre- and post-draw activity, and troubleshooting issues whenever they arise.
As the North Dakota Lottery’s MUSL Rule Administrator, Julie is responsible for ensuring compliance with MUSL rules and confidentiality standards, verifying high-tier winning tickets and addressing findings from audits and site reviews. She also handles the Lottery’s investigative needs, including assisting law enforcement agencies and resolving player and retailer disputes.
The scope of those responsibilities made Julie’s performance over the past year particularly noteworthy. During an extraordinarily busy period, she helped navigate an RFP process, the 2025 Mega Millions game change, the arrival of the Lottery’s third director in six months, its first major system upgrade in 11 years, a system conversion, the sunset of Lucky for Life and the launch of Millionaire for Life.
Through it all, Julie remained calm, professional and focused on solutions while continuing to fulfill the many other responsibilities of her position. Her ability to manage complex technical, security, compliance, and operational demands – and her commitment to protecting the integrity of the Lottery – make her a deserving recipient of the 2026 NASPL Powers Award.
