Mum raffling-off family business is blocked by gambling watchdogs

A Queensland mum who has put her house, land and business up for a $1.5m raffle has been forced to stop taking entries from the state’s residents by authorities, who have taken her to court to stop the lottery.

Queensland mum Natalie Giumelli, 31, has put her entire life’s work up for raffle.

A QUEENSLAND mum who is raffling her house, land, cash and pet resort business has stopped taking entries as authorities prepare to take her to court.

Natalie Giumelli, 31, from Woodstock, south of Townsville, had been selling tickets for the lottery — purportedly worth a total $1.5 million. But authorities will today seek an urgent injunction.

Natalie Giumelli

She posted on her Yapper Valley Pet Resort Facebook page on August 19 that she has been “advised by regulatory authorities … to cease this promotion in Queensland” from August 20.

The post came during an investigation into the lottery by the state’s Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation, according to a statement from the OLGR.

Following the probe, on September 4, the chief executive of the Department of Attorney-General asked the court for an urgent injunction to halt the competition in Queensland before the draw, set for September 24.

The draw — known officially as a trade promotion lottery — had originally been set for June 21 and is open to Australian residents, excluding South Australians and now Queenslanders.

The draw has permits to sell entries to NSW and ACT residents. The raffle is the first of its kind in Queensland, Ms Giumelli has said.

Ms Giumelli told visitors to her website that all Queenslanders who purchased a $55 ticket to win the 45ha property before the August 20 ban “will remain eligible for the draw”.

“The Queensland governing bodies see it one way and we see it another. Unfortunately while we don’t agree we don’t want to fight them in court,” she posted on Facebook last month.

Queensland mum Natalie Giumelli, 31, is trying to raffle her home and business for $55 per chance.

A controversial condition of the draw — which has drawn nationwide media coverage — is that the winner will not win the $1.5 million prize if less than 40,000 tickets are sold. Instead, the winner would receive cash to the value of half of all tickets sold. If 39,000 tickets are sold, they would ­receive $1 million and not the pet resort.

Ms Giumelli has owned the home since 2013, property records show, and unsuccessfully listed it for sale in 2015 for an asking price of $1.4 million.

The resort has 13 cattery apartments and one “suite”, as well as 24 airconditioned cabins for dogs.

Ms Giumelli and her media representative did not respond to requests for comment yesterday. However, her husband Brock said: “This is a matter for the courts”