Questions over the US Attorney General’s alleged Russian connections have indirectly complicated casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s bid to ban online gambling in the United States.

On Friday, Bloomberg reported that US Attorney General Jeff Sessions had recused himself from any discussion of whether to undo the 2011 Department of Justice opinion that allowed states to determine for themselves whether to allow their residents to enjoy online gambling from the comfort of their homes, so long as it didn’t involve sports betting.

During his Senate confirmation hearing in January, Sessions (pictured) said he disagreed with that 2011 opinion and would “revisit” the opinion once he was sworn in as the country’s top law enforcement officer.

But Sessions’ recent hiring of attorney Charles Cooper to steer him through congressional investigations of (among other things) Sessions’ role in the firing of FBI director James Comey has complicated Sessions’ involvement in the gambling issue.