Adrian Portelli DENIES bombshell accusations – after he took a swipe at authorities trying to convict him
High-profile businessman Adrian Portelli has denied allegations of running an illegal lottery and his lawyer has called for the case to go to trial ‘soon’.
Portelli, 35, is charged with nine counts of organizing or assisting the operation of an unlawful lottery in South Australia, while his company Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, trading as LMCT+, is charged with 10 counts of the same offence.
He was not required to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday, where lawyer Ben Lodge entered not guilty pleas on behalf of Portelli and Xclusive Tech.
The charges, initiated by South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services, allege Portelli’s company was not licensed to operate the lotteries in South Africa.
There have been no negotiations with the prosecutor over the charges, Lodge told Magistrate Luke Davis.
“We have had discussions with our clients… and the matter is controversial. “We want to bring the case to court as soon as possible,” he said.
“We ask that these matters be placed on the agenda at a pre-trial conference, and our preference is for a list today.”
Davis adjourned matters for a pretrial conference on March 6.
Businessman Adrian Portelli has denied allegations of running an illegal lottery in South Australia
Portelli’s company offers members subscriptions to a “rewards club,” which includes entries to win cars and properties.
Under SA law, trade promotion lotteries with prizes over $5000 require a license to operate and entries must be free.
“The top prize for the raffle was a property in Gisborne, Victoria, as featured on the Australian television show The Block, or a cash prize of $3,000,000,” according to court documents.
Winning the prize “involved an element of chance” but the defendant “did not have a license to operate the lottery in South Australia”.
Portelli and his company face a possible maximum fine of $190,000.
Portelli and his company face a possible maximum fine of $190,000.
He has said on social media that if he were convicted, he would “round it up to $200,000.”
In a social media post in December, after the charges were laid, Portelli promoted a membership-based giveaway for South Australians.
“It’s okay, we still love you. Your gambling commissioner won’t allow you to win big life-changing prizes, so I’ve decided to run exclusive DAILY $1000 cash giveaways for you guys instead,” he wrote.
Melbourne-based Portelli rose to fame in 2022 as ‘the Lambo Guy’ after arriving at a house auction for The Block in a yellow Lamborghini.
On last year’s reality show, he spent $15.03 million to acquire all five homes on offer.