Adrian Portelli has warned his multimillion-dollar plan to challenge Australia’s grocery and fuel giants could be crushed by proposed federal laws targeting paid giveaway clubs.
The LMCT+ founder told members the rewards model he spent a decade building could be stamped out, putting the national expansion of LMCT+ Petrol and proposed supermarkets at risk.
While the laws would not automatically shut the fuel sites or supermarkets, they could threaten the paid giveaway club model that built the brand.
That could force the business to radically restructure, or abandon the rewards system Australians know.
Mr Portelli said in a message to members that he did not blame the federal government for looking at the sector, claiming there were “hundreds of cowboys” copying his business model and hiding behind giveaways as their only selling point.
“But LMCT+ is not that,” Mr Portelli said.
“If we get thrown into the same pile as those operators, the national rollout of LMCT+ Petrol and LMCT+ supermarkets comes to a halt.
“And our mission of putting power back into the hands of everyday Australians and giving them a voice outside of parliament ends with it.”
Mr Portelli claimed the crackdown felt like an attempt to protect major corporations from a challenger brand.
“The government wants to silence the movement and protect the big businesses in this country,” Mr Portelli said.
“The same big businesses making some of the biggest profits in the world off the backs of ordinary Australians.”
An industry source close to the supporter base said the proposed reforms had triggered anger among members who believed Mr Portelli was being punished for challenging major petrol and supermarket players.
“These political show ponies are absolutely terrified of Adrian Portelli because he is doing what they have failed to do for years: actually helping everyday Australians,” the source said.
“While families are getting smashed by petrol prices, grocery bills, mortgage stress, rent hikes and every other cost-of-living kick in the guts, Adrian is out there trying to build something that puts money back in people’s pockets.
“And the second someone from outside the political bubble starts giving ordinary Aussies a leg-up, the system comes after him. It is complete and utter bulls***t.”
The source said the anger went beyond Labor and was also being directed at the Liberals.
“Labor has lost the plot,” the source said.
“The Albanese government talks about helping working families while homeowners, renters and small businesses are being belted from every direction.
“But the Liberals are no better. They are weak as pi**. No mongrel, no backbone and no ability to land a punch when ordinary Australians need someone to fight for them.”
The source said frustration with both major parties was pushing some Australians towards Pauline Hanson and One Nation.
The draft reforms take aim at paid giveaway clubs where members receive entries into repeated prize draws for high-value prizes such as cars, houses or cash.
If passed, those clubs could lose protection as trade promotions unless their fees are paid solely for real goods or services, not access to giveaways.
The clause is contained in Schedule 4 of the draft Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026, which targets online lottery products.
The proposed threat comes as Mr Portelli has been expanding from online memberships into physical retail sites.
Alba Prop director Tom Mifsud said the loss of the rollout would be unlikely to reshape established blue-chip markets such as Preston, where Mr Portelli opened his first fuel site.
But Mr Mifsud said new discount fuel and grocery brands could play a bigger role in growth corridors and mortgage-belt suburbs, where major retailers and service stations helped give residents and investors confidence.
“Competition is good because it encourages business, it encourages alternatives and supports diversity,” Mr Mifsud said.
“The more competition, the better. You don’t want to be killing off competition because that’s not good for anyone.”
Mr Mifsud said governments needed to be careful not to discourage entrepreneurship at a time when households were under pressure from fuel, grocery, mortgage and rent costs.
“When you kill ambition, you kill the spirit and you discourage people from spending and doing anything, which is not good for the economy,” he said.
However, he said any business model also had to fit the community it entered and add genuine local value.
“If you are daring to go against that fabric, that is the risk you run,” Mr Mifsud said.
Extracted in full from: https://www.realcommercial.com.au/news/proposed-giveaway-laws-strike-portellis-cheap-supermarket-and-petrol-rollout
