Capping concert ticket resale prices in Ontario won’t stop scammers: poll

New rules introduced to curb exorbitant ticket resale prices won’t stop scammers, a new poll has found.

High resale ticket prices often have fans paying well over the original price. Taylor Swift fans paid over $1,000 for a ticket to a Toronto concert in 2024. Last year, a resale ticket for Katy Perry’s Vancouver concert was priced at $12,650.

The upcoming FIFA World Cup Canada versus Bosnia and Herzegovina game had resale tickets priced at over $60,000 on April 2.

In March, Ontario introduced new legislative changes that would make it “illegal for tickets to concerts, cultural, sports and other live events in Ontario to be re-sold for more than their original cost.”

The province said the measures will protect fans and consumers from exploitative, professional resellers who artificially drive up ticket prices.

But most people who responded to an INsauga.com poll don’t think the new rules will help.

INsauga.com asked: “Do you think capping resale prices for concert and sports event tickets will stop scammers?”

As of April 2, 1,327 people, nearly 70 per cent, said no.

Another 609 people, just over 31 per cent, said yes.

Online ticket marketplace provider StubHub has argued that price caps have led to a surge in ticket fraud in places like Ireland and Australia. Price caps can drive ticket resellers to unregulated platforms, they argue.

64 per cent of Ontario respondents said resale restrictions reduce consumer choice, a poll from Léger and StubHub found.

Another 85 per cent say they should be free to resell tickets they bought, and 34 per cent said price caps could actually increase safety risks, according to StubHub.

The INsauga.com poll reflects the views of participating readers and is not a scientific sample. Participation was voluntary and limited to the publication’s audience, which generated approximately 15 million pageviews in the 30 days leading up to the publication of this article.

Lead photo: Philip Yu