Who hasn’t attempted to buy tickets to see their favourite musician in concert only to be met with a big old “Sold Out” notification within a couple minutes of tickets going on sale? Then you have no choice but to go over to StubHub and pay double the price or take your chances with scalpers outside the venue on the day of the event.
That could be coming to an end—or at least getting a little better—now that Ontario has announced legislation that will see it cracking down on ticket bots and scalpers. A few months ago, Ontario’s attorney general, Yasir Naqvi made a promise to review the rules surrounding buying and selling tickets online and he’s done just that.
Inspired by the general public’s complaints about how difficult it was to get tickets to the Tragically Hip’s Man Machine Poem tour last summer, the province released an easy-to-access survey looking for feedback from Ontario residents about access, affordability, transparency and enforcement in regards to online ticket sales and resale tickets. The survey included questions like “Have you ever had a hard time buying tickets online from Ticketmaster or through the event venue’s website?”
Today, in a news release, the Ministry of the Attorney General announced they would be proposing tougher rules that would gives fans a fair shot at seeing their favourite music, sports and theatrical events.
“The Ticket Sales Act will be introduced in the fall and, if passed, would prevent excessive markups in the resale market, provide fans with more upfront information and prevent ticket fraud, while strengthening enforcement of Ontario’s ticket laws,” the release says.
Proposed changes to rules include:
- Banning ticket bots and the sale of tickets that were purchased using bots
- Capping the resale price of tickets at 50 per cent above face value
- Requiring businesses selling tickets to disclose more information to consumers
- Establishing new enforcement measures to help make sure that ticket selling and reselling businesses are following the rules
Hamilton-based band the Arkells had this to say about the proposed regulations:
“As both artists and fans of live music, we are very encouraged by the government’s new initiatives in support of ticket-buying fans. Between prices on the secondary market and ticket bots scooping up all of the available tickets, we know how frustrating trying to buy tickets can be. When we put on a live show we want our fans to have access to tickets without having to pay inflated prices or risk buying fake tickets. We are encouraged that these new initiatives will be a step in the direction of getting real fans tickets at fair prices.”
Scalpers will always find a way to keep their business going, but hopefully the new legislation will give real fans more opportunities to see the events they want to see without having to risk missing a rent payment to do it.
