Adrian Portelli’s Latest Move: Reshaping Trade Promotions with ‘My Reno Rules’

Trade promotions are games of chance or skill commonly used to promote a business, boost revenue, enhance brand profile or endorse products. Each State and Territory regulates trade promotions differently with permit requirements depending on the jurisdiction and the total value prize pool. Although trade promotions can vary in form, entry must technically be free, however organisers can offer goods or services at retail value, subsequently granting customers entry into the trade promotion.

While many Australians first became familiar with Portelli through his high‑profile appearances on The Block, within the trade promotion community, he is better known for his entrepreneurial success as the founder of LMCT+. Established in 2018, LMCT+ introduced a rewards‑based model that combines membership subscriptions with chance‑based prize draws, known as trade promotions.

The launch of the reality television show My Reno Rules marks a further evolution of Portelli’s approach. The series blends a renovation competition format with a trade promotion mechanism, allowing members of the public to purchase entry packages, ranging from modest amounts to higher‑value tiers for the chance to win either a fully renovated home or a substantial cash alternative.

Trade promotions are regulated under gaming, gambling, and lotteries laws, and their operation involves a degree of legal nuance. Businesses will often carefully structure trade promotions to avoid being classified as ‘lotteries’.

Notwithstanding the excitement surrounding its launch, My Reno Rules exposes the practical limits of operating trade promotions within Australia’s fragmented regulatory framework. In particular, South Australian residents are expressly excluded from entering the draw, reflecting South Australia’s position as one of the most tightly regulated jurisdictions for trade promotions. In March 2026, Xclusive Tech Pty Ltd, the company operating Portelli’s LMCT+ rewards club, was found guilty of 10 counts of conducting an unlawful lottery in South Australia, relating to 10 separate prize draws held between January 2023 and May 2024, and was fined $40,000 for operating without the required licence.

While Portelli was acquitted of personal liability, the outcome highlights the regulatory risk of operating chance‑based promotions in South Australia. Viewed in that context, the exclusion of South Australian residents from My Reno Rules is less likely to be a creative decision by Portelli’s team, and more a reflection of a jurisdiction widely regarded as restrictive, uncertain or commercially unviable for this style of trade promotion. More broadly, it highlights growing political and regulatory appetite, particularly at a state level, to scrutinise and, in some cases, curb promotional models that effectively replicate a lottery framework, while avoiding traditional gambling regulations.

This increasingly cautious regulatory stance is not limited to South Australia, with similar concerns emerging in other jurisdictions. In the Australian Capital Territory, independent Senator David Pocock has criticised chance‑based trade promotions that are deliberately structured to avoid being classified as lotteries, such as by bundling prize draw entries with a product or membership system and treating prizes as ‘incidental’. He has argued that, despite these legal mechanics, an ordinary observer would likely view these structures and websites and just see a lottery. A spokesperson for the government has also raised concerns about the emergence of new lotteries that undermine the work of Australia’s charity lottery sector.

Taken together, this growing scrutiny points to an emerging policy question as to whether existing laws remain fit for purpose, or whether further regulatory tightening is needed to address promotional models that seek to replicate lotteries while avoiding traditional gambling controls.

For businesses and entrepreneurs looking to enter the trade promotion market, the current environment makes one thing clear: strategy and structure are critical. As regulatory scrutiny increases, particularly around chance‑based promotions, success depends not just on creativity but on careful legal and commercial design. Key considerations include the size and framing of the prize pool, ensuring that prizes are genuinely ancillary to a legitimate business offering, and making early decisions about whether certain States or Territories should be excluded where regulatory risk is prohibitive and obtaining relevant permits where requires. Equally important is compliance with broader consumer protection obligations, including the Australian Consumer Law, which governs misleading or deceptive conduct, transparency of promotional terms, and fairness in promotional representations.

As more operators push the boundaries of what constitutes a trade promotion, often by tightly engineering promotions to avoid lottery classification, regulators and policymakers are watching closely. For new market entrants seeking to launch trade promotions, the lesson is not that trade promotions are off‑limits, but that robust legal advice and jurisdiction‑aware planning are essential components of any viable trade promotion strategy in Australia. It is pivotal to remain well-informed regarding regulations, as a failure to comply with regulations can lead to severe consequences, including hefty financial sanctions and significant damage to your business’ reputation.

Our lawyers will help you navigate the legal framework, ensuring your promotions remain fully compliant with all relevant laws and regulations, allowing your business to thrive and helping you avoid potential penalties or fines. If you are looking for assistance with structuring or running a compliant trade promotion, contact tugce@sanickilawyers.com.au at Sanicki Lawyers.