6 Things you should know about ticket scalping laws
With Covid lockdown well and truly behind us, Victoria is now bursting with sporting, theatre and cultural events. With the likes of Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran gracing our stages, there is no shortage of concerts to attend. If you are like me, it is nearly impossible to get your hands on the tickets. Where there is demand, there is a thriving resale market.
In February of this year, it was reported that music fans were forced to pay ten times the initial price for DJ Fred Again tickets. The tickets were allegedly sold out within 3.4 second after its release online. Eager fans turned to the secondary market, where the tickets were being re-sold for $300 to $500 per ticket. Meanwhile on Tiktok, one group claimed that it bought more than 80 percent of the tickets and boasted about making $200 to $300 profit per ticket.
This is ticket scalping.
Here are 6 things you should know about ticket scalping laws.
- In Victoria, ticket scalping is governed by Part 9 and Part 9A of the Major Events Act 2009 (“the Act”). The scalping laws do not extend to all events. Rather, the Act protects events that have been declared as either a sports ticketing event or a major event by the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events (“Declared events”). To check if your event is a declared event, we refer you to https://djsir.vic.gov.au/ticket-scalping.
- The Act prohibits a non-authorised seller from selling and advertising tickets of declared events at a price that is 10 percent above its face value purchase price. Depending on the number of tickets that are being resold or advertised for resale, different penalties apply.
- Some declared sporting events will include a condition that prohibits or restricts the sale or distribution of the ticket by a non-authorised seller altogether. If such condition is displayed on the ticket, a person must not, without reasonable excuse, knowingly contravene the condition. The ten percent rule does not apply.
- Where a major event ticketing declaration has been made, the event organiser is required to ensure that the face value purchase price is displayed on the ticket. This is to ensure that the purchaser can easily identify the face value purchase price of the ticket if they are sourcing it from the secondary seller.
- People reselling tickets to declared major events must provide the following details in the advertisement: the face value price displayed on the ticket, the asking price to resell the ticket and seat location details of the ticket.
- Since March 2022, the Act also prohibit a person who is not authorised in writing by a declared major event organiser to sell ticket packages on behalf of an event. This is designed to stop these laws being circumvented, by the ticket being offered for sale with a hospitality package, experience, or merchandise. The Act requires the event organisers of declared events to publish a register of authorised sellers of ticket packages, including their trading name and ABN/ACN. The Act also makes it an offence for a company or individual to falsely claim they are permitted to sell ticket packages on behalf of an event.
Unfortunately for the fans of DJ Fred Again, the Act did not apply to hold the reselling group accountable as the event was not a declared major event. As DJ events become more popular, the number of ticket scalpers will be on the rise. The state government is under mounting pressure to consider whether such events should be declared as a major event.
