Federal Regional Court (TRF-3) Judge Adriana Pileggi has become the subject of a disciplinary complaint before Brazil’s National Council of Justice (CNJ) after authorizing three betting platforms to resume operations despite the Government’s prohibition on online betting.
The complaint was filed by lawyers Marco Aurélio de Carvalho and Reinaldo Santos de Almeida, members of the Prerrogativas lawyer group. They question the judge’s impartiality, citing social media publications attributed to her that allegedly criticized the Workers’ Party (PT) and expressed support for the Bolsonaro family.
The lawyers argue the Constitution prohibits judges from party-political activity and want the CNJ to investigate.
Local news outlets reported that Pileggi allegedly published a message in June 2020 saying no Government was more corrupt than those of the PT. The complaint follows Pileggi’s injunction allowing three CDA Gaming platforms to resume activities after the provisional measure banning online betting.
The authorization was short-lived. TRF-3 president Johonsom di Salvo accepted an appeal from the Attorney General’s Office and suspended the ruling.
Justice Luiz Fux also suspended judicial proceedings challenging the ban until the Supreme Federal Court reviews the cases, citing the risk of conflicting decisions. The hearing was covered in real time by Global Gambling Insider.
Pileggi denied that political considerations influenced her ruling, telling Brazilian newspapers that her more than 34 years in the judiciary had been guided by independence and technical application of the law.
She also argued that restrictions on judges’ party-political activity do not prevent personal opinions, and said her ruling was based exclusively on legal grounds.
Brazil's National Association of Games and Lotteries says it found 802 Instagram profiles sharing links to suspected betting sites after the country's ban came into force
