Adrian ‘Mr Lambo’ Portelli’s house giveaway has been marred by technology issues which has forced him to postpone the announcement of the winner.
The billionaire bidder, 35, spent $15million buying all five Phillip Island homes on the 2024 season of The Block and plans to give them all away in a record-breaking raffle.
However, the scheduled lottery through his company LMCT+ hit a major roadblock on Thursday due to technical difficulties, with Adrian deciding to ‘pause’ the action.
The winner was due to be unveiled at 8.30pm on Boxing Day but the result has been postponed for 24 hours due to the issues.
A post shared to Instagram read: ‘NOTICE: Due to technical difficulties, winners will now be drawn tomorrow, 8:30pm AEDT. The promotion has ended at its stated time.Â
‘No more entries will be generated for this promotional giveaway. Thank you for your support and understanding.’
Adrian ‘Mr Lambo’ Portelli’s house giveaway has been marred by technology issues which has forced him to postpone the announcement of the winner
In a video, Adrian explained that the giveaway had closed at 8pm as planned, but due to the sheer volume of traffic on the website, the LMCT+ systems then crashed.
Though the issue was fixed on time, Adrian said he still postponed the raffle so he can ‘personally go over everything’ and ensure it is running successfully.
‘This is what happens when you run things live unfortunately, this is how you know it’s all legitimate because things like this happen,’ he said.
‘It’s annoying, I’m frustrated but I’d rather be safe and preserve my company’s reputation and my reputation and not disappoint you guys or break trust in any way.
‘When I’m confident everything is working as it should be, we will be drawing the winners. 8.30pm tomorrow, we will be drawing the winner.
‘The guys will be working through the night, testing everything and making sure it’s above board and then we will continue.’
The lucky winner will either take home all five Phillip Island properties or $8million in cash.Â
LMCT+ ‘rewards club’ sees customers pay for different tiers of membership to receive entries in luxury giveaways.Â
The winner was due to be unveiled at 8.30pm on Boxing Day but the result has been postponed for 24 hours due to the issues, with Adrian sharing a video detailing the strugglesÂ
During the 2024 finale of The Block, Adrian made history by purchasing all five of the properties for a huge $15million.
In his final year of bidding on the show, Adrian ensured Maddy and Charlotte Harry became the youngest ever winners when he bought their home for $3.5million.
Adrian’s company, LMCT+, has frequently raffled off properties from The Block, including last year’s $5million purchase of Steph and Gian’s winning home.
Shortly after buying up the entire plot of homes on Phillip Island, Adrian then announced his massive ‘resort giveaway’ through LMCT+.
However, the stumbling block in the raffle comes weeks after Adrian was accused of allegedly conducting/assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery.
Adrian and LMCT+ are facing a total of 19 charges from the South Australian consumer watchdog.
The state’s Consumer and Business Services office launched an investigation into the operations of the Melbourne businessman’s company in September last year.
The government department then filed charges against Adrian and Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, which trades as LMCT+, on November 27.
The bidder, 35, spent $15million buying all five Phillip Island homes on the 2024 season of The Block and is giving them all away in the record-breaking raffle (he is pictured on the site)
The charges cover alleged unlawful lotteries held in South Australia between January 29, 2023 and May 16, 2024.
Court documents reveal the prizes in LMCT+’s alleged lotteries included cars, three Victorian properties as seen on The Block – one of which was valued about $2.9million – and cash prizes of up to $3million.
Adrian faces nine counts of conducting/assisting in the conduct of an unlawful lottery, and the company faces ten counts of the same charge.
If convicted on all charges, Adrian and his company could face a maximum penalty of $190,000.Â
The first mention of the case is scheduled for January 15 in the Adelaide Magistrates Court.
