Leadership / 05.26.18

Ticket Touting Proposals Lack Government Fans

Access Staff

Original article published on Irish Times (Ireland) (05/26/18)

The Irish government's proposed solution to rampant ticket scalping have few advocates, as Social Democrats TD Róisín Shortall raised questions about concrete steps following a discussion of a bill from Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan at a meeting with officials from the department headed by Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys. Under the bill in question, ticket resales that exceed 10 percent over the original face value would be outlawed, which threatens to somewhat disrupt secondary ticketing sites' business model. Department officials said capping resale prices will by no means curtail scalping, and noted that the number of annual entertainment events where reselling was heavy was “generally no more than 10.” They also emphasized that fans would still be frustrated by their inability to buy tickets for high-demand events. In addition, reselling sites offer consumer protections that scalpers lack, while capping prices may possibly have an impact on tourism. Officials also argued that should the Republic pursue legislation alone, secondary ticket sales would likely relocate to price-cap-free markets. Minister of State Pat Breen failed to mollify Shortall by saying Humphreys was finalizing proposals for legislation, while also using phrases such as “a number of considerations” and “unintended and undesirable consequences.”

Read the full story on the Irish Times (Ireland) website.

Tags: Reselling , News , Secondary Ticketing