Aus The Block's 'Lambo Guy' to face trial on unlawful lottery charges
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 AU$3 million (NZ$3.2 million) cash.
Portelli, 35, of Melbourne was 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 traded under the name LMCT+, was charged with 10 counts of the same offence.
He appeared in Adelaide Magistrates Court today 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, alleged Portelli's business did not hold a licence to conduct the lotteries in SA.
Portelli's company offered members subscriptions to a "rewards club" that included entries to win cars and properties.
Under SA law, any trade promotion lotteries with prizes exceeding AU$5000 (NZ$5387.60) needed 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 AU$3 million ( NZ$3.2 million)," court documents stated.
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 AU$15.03 million (NZ$16.19 million) to acquire all five homes on offer.
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