The Block billionaire Adrian Portelli will face trial on charges of conducting an unlawful lottery over a promotion in which the major prize was a house from the reality show The Block or $3million in cash.

Melbourne-based Portelli, 35, is charged with nine counts of conducting or assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery in South Australia.

His business Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, which trades under the name LMCT+, has also been charged with 10 counts of the same offence.

Portelli appeared in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday via audio link for a pre-trial conference.

The charges, instigated by SA’s Consumer and Business Services, allege Portelli’s business did not hold a licence to conduct the lotteries in SA.

Portelli’s company offers members subscriptions to a ‘rewards club’ that includes entries to win cars and properties.

Under SA law, any trade promotion lotteries with prizes exceeding $5000 need a licence to operate and entries must be free of charge.

‘The major prize for the lottery was a property situated in Gisborne in the state of Victoria, as seen on the Australian television show The Block, or a cash prize of $3 million,’ court documents said.

Adrian Portelli (pictured) will face trial on charges of conducting an unlawful lottery over a promotion in which the major prize was a house from the reality show or $3million cash

The Block billionaire, 35, is charged with nine counts of conducting or assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery in South Australia

Winning the prize ‘involved an element of chance’ but the defendant ‘did not hold a licence to conduct the lottery in South Australia’.

Chief Magistrate Mary-Louise Hribal said given Portelli’s legal team was travelling from interstate and the complexity of the matter, ‘I’ll ask that it has a special listing and some priority’.

Prosecutors asked for ‘basic AVL facilities’ to play videos at the trial, while defence counsel said it would call two witnesses to give evidence.

Judge Hribal has listed a trial for September 4 to 5.

If convicted on all charges, Portelli and his company could face a maximum penalty of $190,000.

The high-profile businessman has denied charges of conducting an unlawful lottery.

He has previously dismissed the South Australian authorities as ‘cowboys’ and offered to ‘call it even’ with them.

‘It’s a maximum penalty of $190,000. I’ll round it up to $200,000,’ he has said.

Portelli (pictured) is facing nine counts of conducting or assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery in South Australia. He denies all of the charges

Less than a week after the charges were filed against him, Portelli made headlines for giving away $150,000 worth of Coles vouchers to 1,000 Sydneysiders.

And just hours after Daily Mail Australia revealed the prosecution, he held a lavish bash at his multimillion dollar penthouse in Melbourne’s CBD on Thursday night.

No expense was spared at the party, with the event featuring go-go dancers and famous Aussie DJ Havana Brown.

Portelli made much of his fortune through LMCT+ which has more than 300,000 customers who pay a subscription fee, with options ranging from $20 to a $100 a month.

Subscribers get discounts from partners such as Amazon and Elite Supplements – although the website only releases the details to people who sign up.

The main attraction is the company’s monthly lottery draws for cash, cars and homes. The last draw, on November 24, resulted in $1million going to one subscriber.

The more a subscriber pays, the more ‘accumulating entries’ they’re given in each draw.

Portelli gained fame as the ‘Lambo Guy’ in 2022, after arriving at a house auction for The Block in a yellow Lamborghini. In the 2024 series of the reality show, he spent $15.03 million to acquire all five homes on offer.