Billionaire Adrian Portelli has been charged by South Australian authorities, accused of running an unlawful lottery.
Portelli is facing nine counts of conducting/assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery, and his company LMCT+ is facing 10 counts of the same charge.
The alleged offences are said to have occurred between January 29 last year and May 16 this year.
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Portelli responded tonight with a message directed at residents of South Australia alongside a photograph of him holding his child.
"It's okay SA we still love you," Portelli said in a post on the Instagram account for LMCT+.
"Your gambling commissioner won't allow you to win major life changing prizes so I've decided to run exclusive, DAILY $1000 cash giveaways to you guys instead.
"We still love you and I'll definitely be visiting to do more grocery voucher handouts," he added, with an emoji of two hands making a heart shape.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DDMLIRIyBUC/?hl=en
The promotions guru and property investor made waves earlier this year when he purchased all five homes on offer at The Block 2024 auction day.
LMCT+ charges monthly fees for shopping discounts, with membership including monthly draws.
Portelli made headlines earlier this week after giving away $150,000 worth of groceries in Sydney.
A massive crowd gathered before the giveaway began, with some people having lined up from 4am in Penrith and Fairfield West.
The billionaire bidder first made a name for himself as Block royalty after splashing $16.65 million on four Block homes in 2022 and 2023.
Portelli is due to face court on January 15.
More to come.