Adrian Portelli Faces Court Over Alleged Unlawful Lotteries
Adrian Portelli, the Melbourne businessman widely known as the “Lambo Guy,” has found himself back in the headlines, but this time it’s not for his flashy cars or million-dollar property purchases. Instead, he’s at the centre of a legal battle in Adelaide Magistrates Court, where he and his company, Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, trading as LMCT+, are facing charges of running unlawful lotteries.
The 35-year-old entrepreneur, who first shot to fame after arriving at a house auction for The Block in a bright yellow Lamborghini, is no stranger to public attention. In fact, he made headlines again in 2024 when he splashed out over $15 million to buy all five homes featured on the show. But now, his business dealings are under scrutiny, with prosecutors alleging that his company conducted 10 lotteries in South Australia without the proper licences between January 2023 and May 2024.
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According to South Australian law, any trade promotion lottery offering prizes above $5000 must be licensed, and entries must be free of charge. Investigators say those rules were ignored. In court, videos of Portelli himself conducting online prize draws were played. They showed giveaways as extravagant as a house from The Block or $3 million in cash, a rare Devil Yellow HSV, and a quarter of a million dollars in prize money.
Rather than looking concerned, Portelli appeared amused. He laughed, smiled, and described the footage as a “trip down memory lane.” Outside the courtroom, he was outspoken, claiming that his company had been misled by South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services (CBS). He insisted that misinformation was provided to him and his team, leading them to believe they were compliant. He even stated, “We’ve complied with every state in Australia bar SA,” suggesting the issue was an isolated clash with one regulator.
Portelli didn’t shy away from criticising the prosecution, calling it a waste of taxpayers’ money and vowing to fight the charges. He also accused authorities of keeping tens of thousands of dollars in fees after refusing to grant his company any more permits in South Australia. To reporters, he argued that correspondence between his team and CBS proves his side of the story, saying: “They don’t even know what’s going on. They’ve given us wrong information … and we’ve got proof of that.”
True to his larger-than-life persona, Portelli joked that his lawyer was probably shaking his head at him for speaking so openly. But he brushed it off with a laugh, adding that he didn’t really care. The potential consequences, however, are serious: both he and his company could face fines up to $190,000 if found guilty. In fact, Portelli has previously quipped online that if he were convicted, he’d simply “round it up to $200,000.”
For now, the trial is set to continue before Magistrate Melanie Burton, and all eyes remain on Portelli as he battles allegations that could reshape his business reputation just as much as his extravagant lifestyle once built it.
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