Stop ticket scalpers sapping vitality from sports, entertainment events

Popular tickets are being resold at high prices on the internet. Police and event organizers should step up surveillance to ensure orderly distribution.

Some events that had been canceled or postponed due to the spread of the novel coronavirus have resumed, and tickets such as those for Tokyo Disneyland and professional baseball games are now being sold at high prices on the internet. Some tickets are being sold for more than five times the list price.

To prevent infections, Disneyland has limited the number of visitors to less than half of the usual attendance, while professional baseball has limited the number of spectators per game to 5,000 or fewer. It is believed that such admission restrictions are creating a ticket war.

Tickets should pay for the results of efforts by the organizers, performers and players among others. It is unacceptable for a third party to make a profit by reselling them without contributing anything.

The fan base may shrink if young people and others with limited incomes are unable to go to events. If reselling raises ticket prices, those who buy them will not have money to spare for goods and other items at the events they attend, resulting in decreasing event revenue.

A law to ban the illicit resale of tickets went into effect in June last year, prohibiting ticket scalping at high prices for profit, among other illicit acts. Police have so far detected seven cases involving eight individuals.

The law only regulates tickets that meet such requirements as specifically prohibiting resale on the face of the tickets. That kind of ticket is limited to a few types, such as those for professional baseball, and most measures to prevent resale are left to event organizers.

As there has been a series of high-price scalping incidents even after the enforcement of the law, it is essential to examine whether the regulations are functioning properly.

It is also important for organizers to make efforts to prevent resales. E-tickets with an enhanced identity verification system have been developed, as has an automatic monitoring system to detect high-price resale transactions online. The introduction of such new methods is worth considering.

Also, consumers should not blithely buy tickets from resellers. The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan said it received about 4,700 complaints last fiscal year regarding tickets resold online.

Many of the people said they had bought tickets at high prices via social media or resale agencies overseas. Their complaints included not receiving tickets despite making payments, or being unable to get in touch with sellers even though they wanted to cancel their purchase.

Restrictions on admission will be further eased once the outbreak of the novel coronavirus has abated.

Events including concerts by popular singers will start, and it is feared that the resale of tickets will increase further.

It is hoped that an awareness is shared in society that high resale prices hinder the sound development of culture, art and sports.