High-profile businessman Adrian Portelli will face trial on charges of conducting an unlawful lottery, over a promotion in which the major prize was a house from TV reality show The Block or $3 million cash.
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Portelli, 35, of Melbourne is charged with nine counts of conducting or assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery in South Australia, while his business Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, which trades under the name LMCT+, is charged with 10 counts of the same offence.
He appeared in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday via audio link for a pre-trial conference.
Chief Magistrate Mary-Louise Hribal listed a trial for September 4-5.
The charges, instigated by SA's Consumer and Business Services, allege Portelli's business did not hold a licence to conduct the lotteries in SA.
Portelli's company offers members subscriptions to a "rewards club" that includes entries to win cars and properties.
Under SA law, any trade promotion lotteries with prizes exceeding $5000 need a licence to operate and entries must be free of charge.
"The major prize for the lottery was a property situated in Gisborne in the state of Victoria, as seen on the Australian television show The Block, or a cash prize of $3 million," court documents state.
Winning the prize "involved an element of chance" but the defendant "did not hold a licence to conduct the lottery in South Australia".
Judge Hribal said given Portelli's legal team was travelling from interstate and the complexity of the matter, "I'll ask that it has a special listing and some priority".
Prosecutors asked for "basic AVL facilities" to play videos at the trial, while defence counsel said it would call two witnesses to give evidence.
Portelli gained fame as "the Lambo Guy" in 2022, after arriving at a house auction for The Block in a yellow Lamborghini.
In the 2024 series of the reality show, he spent $15.03 million to acquire all five homes on offer.
Australian Associated Press
