Billionaire Adrian Portelli to redraw $3.5m prize after SA winner ineligible
The winner of a $3.5m Block house giveaway faces heartbreak as billionaire Adrian Portelli reveals his company cannot legally award the prize to South Australian residents.
A Murray Bridge woman who won a $3.5m house from Adrian Portelli’s LMCT+ cannot claim her prize because the business is not licensed to award major prizes in South Australia.
Mr Portelli told The Advertiser he was not aware that the woman lived in South Australia when he informed her on a livestream last week she had won the Phillip Island house.
“We don’t obtain the customer’s addresses – we don’t need to,” the billionaire said. “The less information we obtain from a customer the better.
“We’ve taken multiple measures to be proactive about informing South Australians that they’re not (eligible for) the giveaway.
“We’ve sent multiple emails to South Australians to let them know. We geoblock South Australia as a whole from receiving our social media marketing.”
Mr Portelli said despite these measures, there would always be people who “slip through the cracks” and may not know his business is not licensed to run giveaways in the state.
The woman, identified as “Donna S” on the livestream, was informed she had won Maddy and Charlotte’s house from The Block 2024, which was bought by Mr Portelli for $3.5m.
The mother, 54, told 7NEWS that “a better life” had been “taken away from me”.
“This is something that doesn’t happen to ordinary people,” she said.
Mr Portelli said the prize would be redrawn and his team would be in touch with Donna S to do something for her, such as giving her a gift.
“We’ve got a lot of South Australian residents that use the discounts on the app,” he said, describing the business as a loyalty rewards program. “They’re just not (eligible) for the giveaways.”
Mr Portelli offloaded all five Phillip Island houses he purchased on The Block to giveaway winners during the livestream, which was watched by more than 20,000 people.
Earlier this year, the billionaire faced the Adelaide Magistrates Court over allegations LMCT+ did not hold a licence to conduct 10 separate lotteries in the state between January 2023 and May 2024.
The magistrate has reserved her decision on a verdict, and the matter will be called back at a later date.
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Originally published as Billionaire Adrian Portelli to redraw $3.5m prize after SA winner ineligible
