Resale on tickets more than face value to be banned

The Cabinet has just passed the law of reselling tickets, especially for more than face value. It approved the banning of resale on big concerts and sporting events. It is designed to tackle the problem of the secondary sale of tickets on some resale ticket websites in order to avoid charging much higher prices for sold-out events. This law aims to protect the consumers. There is no way for fans to pay hundreds of euro over the odds for events under proposed law backed by the Irish government.

Business Minister Heather Humphreys has agreed to ban ticket touting, which would ban the selling of tickets for more than their face value for sporting and entertainment events in designated venues with a capacity of one thousand people or more. The legislation will also ban the use of software “bots” which are the computer programs that automatically buy tickets the moment they appear for sale online by using multiple email address and credit card numbers, so as to snap up more tickets than the limit applied to customers by the promoter. The move from Minister for Business Heather Humphreys is being supported by Fianna Fáil.

Though most people support the law, some are still worried about the effects caused by it. An online second-hand ticket-selling company, StubHub said that the laws banning the resale of tickets over the face value will drive to trade underground.

“Although legislation can regulate the selling price of tickets, it bears the risks of driving ticket away from sites that offer the buyer a safe transaction.” It warned after the enactment of the legislation, fans who are customers bearing value and bear the risks, choice, flexibility and security offered by digital marketplaces could end up buying tickets through channels that offer no security or guarantees. It is hoped that the legislation should regulate the effects on both market and the consumer.