Home Australia Adrian Portelli DENIES bombshell accusations – after he took a swipe at authorities trying to convict him

Adrian Portelli DENIES bombshell accusations – after he took a swipe at authorities trying to convict him

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Businessman Adrián Portelli denied accusations of running an illegal lottery in South Australia.

Prominent businessman Adrián Portelli has denied accusations of holding an illegal lottery and his lawyer has asked that the matter move forward “quickly” until it reaches trial.

Portelli, 35, is charged with nine counts of conducting or assisting in conducting an illegal lottery in South Australia, while his company Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, trading under the name 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 a not guilty plea on behalf of Portelli and Xclusive Tech.

The charges, instigated by South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services, allege Portelli’s company did not have a license to run lotteries in South Africa.

There were no plea negotiations over the charges, Lodge told Magistrate Luke Davis.

‘We have had discussions with our clients… and the matter is disputed. “We are interested in bringing the matter to trial as quickly as possible,” he said.

“We ask that these matters be included in a pretrial conference and our preference is that they be included today.”

Mr Davis adjourned matters to a pre-trial conference on March 6.

Businessman Adrián Portelli denied accusations of running an illegal lottery in South Australia.

Portelli’s company offers its members subscriptions to a “rewards club,” which includes entries to win cars and properties.

Under South African law, any commercially promoted lottery with prizes over $5,000 needs a license to operate and entries must be free.

“The lottery’s top prize was a property located in Gisborne, Victoria, as seen on the Australian television show The Block, or a cash prize of $3,000,000,” court documents state. .

Winning the prize “involved an element of chance” but the defendant “was not licensed to run 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.

Portelli and his company face a possible maximum fine of $190,000.

He has said on social media that if 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 draw for South Australians.

‘It’s okay SA, we still love you. Your gaming commissioner won’t let you win major, life-changing prizes, so I’ve decided to offer exclusive, DAILY $1000 cash gifts for you,’ he wrote.

Melbourne-based Portelli gained fame as ‘the Lambo guy’ in 2022, after arriving at an auction house The Block with a yellow Lamborghini.

On last year’s series of the reality show, he spent $15.03 million to acquire the five homes on offer.

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