Forbes (06/24/19) Lunny, Oisin

The European Union's (EU) first anti-scalping law to protect consumers from unfair practices in the secondary market promises to intensify the battle for Europe's $15.19 billion ticket industry. Annex 1 of the amended Unfair Commercial Practices Directive will establish the minimum standard by which EU nations must abide, while a recital will permit implementation of tougher rules nationally. The law should fortify enforcement agencies in Britain and other countries that already have proscriptions against ticketing bots, although the U.K. will not be obligated to participate if a Brexit deal fails to materialize. "While a ban on bots is already coming into force in Ireland, the new legislation will make it easier to enforce and stop touts taking advantage of the gaps between countries' regulations," said Aiken Promotions CEO Peter Aiken. "This is bolstered by the work of the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) network, which links together national consumer authorities to jointly tackle breaches of consumer law while sharing knowledge and providing assistance." Widespread violations that impact consumers in several EU member states, to which EU coordinated enforcement is applicable, could face fines of up to 4% of the trader's annual turnover in the member state or states.

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