New law to stamp out ticket touting
THE country’s biggest ticket agent has greeted plans for a clampdown on touts with silence.
Ticketmaster had no comment to make last night after the Government announced plans to legislate against the resale of tickets above face value.
It has previously been criticised for owning the Seatwave website, which allows fans who failed to get tickets for a soldout gig to purchase official tickets. However, the tickets are resold at an unlimited price set by the customer who originally bought them.
Business Minister Heather Humphreys has received Cabinet approval to work on legislation that will see touts fined up to €5,000 for every offence.
Ms Humphreys plans to ban ticket touting for sporting and entertainment events in designated venues with a capacity of more than 1,000.
The legislation will also prohibit the use of ‘bot’ software to purchase more tickets than permitted by event organisers.
“It’s wrong that people who make no contribution to sport or music can profit from the resale of tickets” Ms Humphreys said.
THE country’s biggest ticket agent has greeted plans for a clampdown on touts with silence.
Ticketmaster had no comment to make last night after the Government announced plans to legislate against the resale of tickets at above face value.
Business Minister Heather Humphreys has received Cabinet approval to work on legislation that will see touts fined up to €5,000 for every offence.
The bill comes on the back of unprecedented collaboration between Fine Gael backbencher Noel Rock and Fianna Fáil’s health spokesman Stephen Donnelly.
The Government was understood to be hesitant to introduce legal restrictions on the resale of tickets for major games and concerts – but Ms Humphreys has now said action must be taken to stop “genuine fans” being deprived of the opportunity to attend events.
Earlier this year there was uproar after tickets to U2’s four sold-out 3Arena concerts in November appeared on resale websites for over five times their face value. The tickets had sold out within minutes of going on sale.
Ms Humphreys plans to ban ticket touting for sporting and entertainment events in designated venues with a capacity of 1,000 or over.
The legislation will also prohibit the use of bot software to purchase tickets in excess of the number permitted by event organisers.
It is hoped the legal changes will be enforceable well in advance of the European Football Championships in 2020 which will see a number of games take place here.
Profit
“It’s wrong that people who make no contribution to sport or music can profit from the resale of tickets for sell-out matches and shows.
“In doing so, they deprive genuine fans of the opportunity to attend these events, and the time has come to put a stop to it,” Ms Humphreys said.
She expects to receive support for the move from the main sporting bodies and promoters of music events.
However, a spokesperson for Ticketmaster said the company had “no comment at this time”.
It has previously been criticised for owning the ‘Seatwave’ website which allows fans who failed to get tickets for a soldout gig to purchase official tickets.
However, the tickets are resold at an unlimited price set by the customer who originally bought them. Seatwave has previously objected to legislation of the nature now being introduced on the basis that it would drive reselling underground.
Mr Rock said last night that he was “not surprised Ticketmaster has no comment”.
“I look forward to speaking to European colleagues to pursue this in other jurisdictions,” he added.
Mr Donnelly added: “For too long, genuine music and sports fans have been ripped off by organised ticket touting.
“While there has always been some low-level touting, the move to online sales and ‘bots’ has brought ticket touting to an industrial scale.”
He said the legislation would be a “strong move to protect fans, artists and sporting bodies”.
The legislation will be put before the Dáil when politicians return from their summer holidays in September.