Melbourne billionaire Adrian Portelli, known for his high-profile giveaways of properties from the reality TV show The Block, will plead not guilty to nine charges of assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery. The charges, brought by South Australia's Consumer and Business Services (CBS), were heard at the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Portelli's company, Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, which operates under the name LMCT+, faces 10 charges for conducting or assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery. Both Portelli and the company will contest the allegations, with their lawyer, Ben Lodge, stating they are keen to progress the matter to trial as soon as possible.
The charges relate to incidents between 29 January 2023 and 16 May 2024, involving giveaways of properties from The Block and other prizes. According to court documents, the major prize for one lottery was a property in Gisborne, Victoria, valued at $3 million, or a cash alternative. Two other Block properties, valued at $2.9 million and an unspecified amount, were also offered, along with a Gold Coast property worth $1.3 million.
Portelli's company operates a subscription-based 'rewards club', where members gain entries to win cars and properties, a model known as a trade promotion lottery. The CBS investigation found that these giveaways involved an element of chance and were conducted without a licence in South Australia.
Portelli made headlines after buying all properties from the latest season of The Block, but the winner chose an $8 million cash prize instead. The case is set to proceed to trial, with a pre-trial conference requested for later this week.
