Trump’s AG nominee “would revisit” online gambling approval

United States President-Elect Donald Trump’s pick for US Attorney General claims he was “shocked” by the US Department of Justice’s approval of intrastate online gambling in 2011.

On Tuesday, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) faced grilling by the Senate committee tasked with vetting his appointment as the nation’s top law enforcement official. For the online gambling industry, questions remain as to how much of a priority Sessions (pictured) intends to place on curbing expansion of online gambling at either the state or federal level.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a vocal proponent of the anti-online legislation supported by Las Vegas Sands’ boss Sheldon Adelson, raised the issue on Tuesday, asking Sessions about his reaction to the 2011 DOJ opinion that paved the way for US states to authorize online gambling within their borders.

Sessions told Graham that he was “shocked” by the DOJ’s view that the 1961 Wire Act prohibited only online sports betting. Sessions said he “did oppose [the 2011 opinion] when it happened, and it seemed to me to be unusual.”