‘Mr Lambo’ Adrian Portelli launches outburst outside court after being asked single question

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Notable entrepreneur Adrian Portelli claims his business was given false information, as his court case for allegedly running an illegal lottery gets underway.

35-year-old Portelli from Melbourne will stand trial for two days at the Adelaide Magistrates Court, accused of nine instances of operating or aiding in the operation of an illegal lottery in South Australia.

The company, known as Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd and operating under the brand name LMCT+, faces charges for ten identical offenses.

The allegations, initiated by South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services, claim that Portelli’s business ran 10 different lotteries without a valid license from January 29, 2023 to May 16, 2024.

Portelli’s business provides an opportunity for membership in a ‘prize club,’ where members can enter sweepstakes to potentially win vehicles and real estate properties.

In South Africa, if a trade promotion offers prizes worth more than $5000, it is necessary to obtain a license to run the lottery, and importantly, participation should not cost anything.

In the year 2022, Portelli became widely recognized as ‘The Yellow Lamborghini Man’, following his grand entrance to a house auction for The Block in a striking yellow Lamborghini.

In the 2024 series of the reality show, he spent $15.03 million to acquire all five homes on offer.

Mr. Portelli broke into a wide grin and hearty laughter when the court presented videos, publicly available on the internet, depicting him handling lottery drawings and reaching out to winners.

On Thursday, the court was presented with the initial three videos, which showcased:

1. A house similar to those awarded as first prizes on the TV show The Block, valued at around $3 million.
2. A Devil Yellow HSV car as one of the top-tier rewards.
3. A cash prize worth $250,000.

The senior investigator from Consumer and Business Services, Jeff Betts, stated in court that no licenses were issued by CBS for the operation of lotteries.

Outside court, Mr Portelli said the morning’s proceedings had been ‘a trip down memory lane’.

‘I’m enjoying it, I’m watching videos I haven’t seen in years,’ he said.

Asked what his defence would be, Mr Portelli said: ‘I can’t say anything at the moment’.

‘It’s a big miscommunication between both parties,’ he said.

‘We’ve complied with every state in Australia bar SA.

‘We had a good relationship with them but someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.’

Inquired about his opinion on whether the prosecution was an unnecessary use of taxpayer funds, he responded by stating: “Indeed, I believe so. I won’t just sit back and allow them to trample upon me; instead, I will stand up and defend myself.

He mentioned that his business hadn’t received a refund for tens of thousands of dollars, as they were denied additional lottery licenses in South Africa.

As a die-hard enthusiast, I can’t contain my excitement! I’m privileged to have a trove of communications between the two parties. Frankly, it seems they’re utterly clueless about the unfolding events, as I shared with the media.

It appears that they provided us with incorrect data. Consequently, we continued our operations as usual, because we had been misled by inaccurate information from their side, and we do have evidence to support this claim.

I suppose my attorney might be disapproving since I’m chattering so much, but truthfully, I couldn’t care less.

Portelli and his company faces a maximum penalty of $190,000.

He has previously said on social media if he were convicted, he would ’round it up to $200,000′.

The trial, before magistrate Melanie Burton, continues.

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2025-09-04 10:18