Furniture giant Temple & Webster has left Adrian Portelli’s company as a partner, just days after The Block billionaire was accused of running illegal lotteries.
The retailer quietly disappeared from the partner list on Portelli’s LMCT+ website on Monday.
Temple & Webster confirmed the company is no longer a partner of LMCT+ when asked by Daily Mail Australia.
The company is one of Australia’s largest online home goods retailers and until Monday was offering discounts to members of LMCT+, a subscription-based lottery and rewards club.
Portelli, 35, and LMCT+ face a total of 19 charges, Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed on Thursday.
South Australian Business and Consumer Services launched an investigation into the operations of the Melbourne businessman’s lottery business in September last year.
The state government department laid the charges against Portelli and Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, trading as LMCT+, on November 27.
They cover alleged illegal lotteries held in South Australia between January 29, 2023 and May 16, 2024.
Portelli’s company offers monthly drawings for cash, cars and homes
Portelli broke his silence on the allegations Thursday night
Court documents reveal that prizes from the alleged lotteries included cars, three Victorian properties as seen on The Block (one of which was valued at around $2.9 million) and cash prizes of up to $3 million. .
Portelli faces nine counts of conducting/aiding to conduct an illegal lottery, and the company faces ten counts of the same charge.
If convicted on all charges, Portelli could face a maximum penalty of $190,000. The case is scheduled for its first mention on January 15 in the Adelaide Magistrates Court.
Less than a week after charges were laid, Portelli made headlines for giving away $150,000 worth of Coles vouchers to 1,000 Sydneysiders, many of whom waited in queues for hours in 33C heat.
And just hours after Daily Mail Australia revealed the allegation, he held a lavish party at his multimillion-dollar penthouse in Melbourne’s financial district on Thursday night.
No expense was spared at the party, and the event featured go-go dancers and famous Australian DJ Havana Brown.
A late night clip showed Portelli doing a ‘shoey’, which involves drinking from a shoe.
The next morning, he also boasted that his businesses had seen a huge increase in sales following the prosecutor’s revelations against him.
Just hours after Daily Mail Australia revealed the allegation, he held a lavish party at his multimillion-dollar penthouse.
“Sales increased last night starting at 6 pm in all companies,” he wrote on social media.
He also dismissed the South Australian authorities as “cowboys” and offered to “be at peace” with them.
‘It is a maximum penalty of $190,000. “I’ll round it up to $200,000,” he said.
Portelli has an estimated net worth of over $1 billion and made much of his fortune through LMCT+.
It has more than 300,000 customers who pay a subscription fee, with options ranging from $20 to $100 a month.
Subscribers get discounts from partners like Amazon and Elite Supplements, although the website only publishes the details to people who sign up.
The main attraction is the company’s monthly lottery drawings for cash, cars and homes. The last drawing, on November 24, resulted in one subscriber receiving $1 million.
The more a subscriber pays, the more ‘cumulative entries’ they will get in each drawing.
No expense was spared at the penthouse party, which featured go-go dancers and famous Australian DJ Havana Brown.
Gambling Reform Alliance chief advocate Tim Costello told Daily Mail Australia he believed LMCT+ was a gambling business.
“What is actually a gambling product that exploits a loophole is deplorable, and I believe that loophole should be closed,” Mr Costello said.
‘The always signature feature of gambling in Australia is that it comes from the poorest postcodes and enriches those who are already enormously rich.
‘It is a transfer from the poorest to the richest, taking advantage of hopes, fears and poverty.
“Australia has the biggest gambling losses in the world because we have the laxest policies in the world, and this is an example of that.”
Portelli’s net worth has been valued at over $1 billion by the Australian Financial Review, taking into account his collection of properties and luxury cars, as well as the paper value of LMCT+.
The businessman ranked seventh on the Financial Review’s young rich list this year.