The Block linked to lottery saga

The successful bidder of The Block Phillip Island, Adrian Portelli, is facing charges around a lottery linked to properties purchased on the Nine show.

Billionaire Adrian Portelli faces nine charges for personally conducting or assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery.

His company, Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, which operates under the brand LMCT+, has been charged with ten similar counts.

His company offers members subscriptions to a “rewards club”. They also then get entries to win cars and properties. The model is known as a trade promotion lottery. Under South Australian law, any trade promotion lotteries with prizes exceeding $5,000 need a licence to operate and entries must be free of charge.

LMCT+ is currently conducting a subscription-based lottery to win all 5 homes on The Block Phillip Island or $8m cash. A winner will be drawn on December 26th.

Guardian Australia reports according to court documents, the incidents occurred between 29 January 2023 and 16 May 2024. “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 $3,000,000,” court documents said.

Giving away the prize “involved an element of chance” but the defendant “did not hold a licence to conduct the lottery in South Australia”.

Two other Block properties, one valued at about $2.9m and the other not given a value were offered as prizes, with cash prizes of $2.5m and $2m respectively offered as alternatives. Another property on the Gold Coast valued at $1.3m was also a major prize.

Portelli insists the company is simply a “membership reward service” that helps local businesses while generating millions of dollars in savings for Australian families.

Each charge for conducting, or assisting in conducting an unlawful lottery carries a maximum penalty of $10,000.

There is no suggestion of fault on behalf of Nine or Block producers Cavalier Productions.

The hearing is listed for the Adelaide magistrates court on 15 January 2025.

Both Victorian and New South Wales regulators investigated LMCT+ and found no legal violations.

Source: Guardian Australia, news.com.au