Ticketmaster’s secret scalper boost clears competition review
Online platform that helps sell massive amounts of tickets is not a breach of federal law
Canada’s Competition Bureau has ruled that Ticketmaster’s secret scalper program, which helps scalpers sell massive numbers of event tickets with steep markups, is not a breach of federal law.
TradeDesk, an online platform custom built by Ticketmaster to help scalpers sell their tickets, was exposed by a joint Toronto Star/CBC undercover investigation last fall.
Following publication, the federal Competition Bureau received an undisclosed number of public complaints and launched an investigation into whether TradeDesk violated the deceptive marketing practices, restrictive trade practices and conspiracy provisions of the Competition Act. On Thursday, the bureau concluded the scalper program does not break the law.
Ticketmaster declined to comment. The Competition Bureau did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
TradeDesk enables users to synchronize multiple Ticketmaster accounts — a method used by scalpers to circumvent limits and buy far more tickets than would be otherwise allowed. The use of multiple accounts is prohibited by Ticketmaster’s terms of use.
Scalpers can then upload their tickets for resale alongside box-office tickets on Ticketmaster’s website.
Complaints to the Competition Bureau alleged that Ticketmaster, the world’s biggest ticket seller, should not be allowed to collude with ticket resellers. For years, Ticketmaster denounced scalpers and argued they should be outlawed.
Last summer, Star and CBC reporters went undercover as small-time scalpers to a ticket reseller conference in Las Vegas, where Ticketmaster sales representatives assured them that the company turns a blind eye to the use of multiple accounts and does not police how scalpers obtain their tickets.
Mass scalpers employ computer programs called bots to purchase dozens or hundreds of tickets in the first few minutes after the tickets go on sale — making it harder for regular fans to get tickets at face value — and pushing them onto scalping websites like StubHub, where the same tickets go for hundreds of dollars more.
The use of bots is banned by law in many Canadian provinces and U.S. states, as well as by Ticketmaster itself.
Following publication of the investigation, which was picked up by media outlets across the U.S. and around the world, Ticketmaster vowed to review its professional ticket reseller accounts and root out any that are using bots.
Two U.S. senators demanded Ticketmaster answer a set of tough questions about its TradeDesk program, and classaction lawsuits were launched on both sides of the border on behalf of fans who were duped by Ticketmaster into paying more for resale tickets that appeared alongside box-office seats.
Meanwhile, the bureau is still pursuing Ticketmaster, Live Nation and affiliated companies in a separate, unrelated lawsuit. The complaint centres on the companies’ use of a deceptive practice known as “drip pricing,” which sees customers pay sometimes more than 65 per cent above advertised costs.
The bureau’s investigation found that advertised prices are deceptive because consumers must pay additional fees that are added later in the purchasing process. A trial is scheduled to begin in the fall.