A draft of a new US federal sports betting bill would allow the US Attorney General to potentially veto state-level legislation, while also requiring bookmakers to use official league-supplied data for wagering purposes.

The new draft legislation, first spotted by ESPN scribe David Purdum, is the first significant effort to reinstate some level of federal control over betting since the US Supreme Court struck down the federal betting prohibition this spring.

Purdum reported that the bill had emerged from the office of Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), who is set to retire after the current lame duck session of Congress. Hatch (pictured) has previously secured the public support of Rep. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), while Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) recently promised a “legislative response” to the federal betting disempowerment was in the works.

With Hatch set to exit the political scene when the lame duck session concludes, he may not have the clout with which to push through something as controversial as a betting bill. Some Republicans may also find the bill an uncomfortable reminder of the states’ rights issues that brought about the demise of the previous federal betting bill. But for argument’s sake, read on…