Ontario Considering New Rules for Online Ticket Sales

Published February 28, 2017 at 4:41 pm

tickets

The province is looking to change the rules for buying and selling tickets online by summer, Attorney General Yasir Naqvi announced in Toronto Tuesday.

Feedback is being collected to update current legislation and create new rules to better protect consumers and “give everyone in Ontario a fair shot” at buying event tickets, said Naqvi.

That includes major concerts, such as Justin Bieber who’s scheduled to perform at the Rogers Centre Sept. 5, or post-season Blue Jays games.

The announcement was made at the historic Ed Mirvish Theatre.

That’s where Naqvi referenced the 2016 Tragically Hip ticket fiasco which saw fans being forced to buy tickets at inflated prices after lead singer Gord Downie announced he had brain cancer.

Overall, tickets sales in the last 10 years have moved online for the most part, allowing for rapid growth of ticket resale websites and creating a platform for what Naqvi calls “scalper bots.”

Tickets often sell out within seconds and a large chunk are then posted to resale sites at a much higher price than the face value of the ticket.

Under Ontario’s Ticket Speculation Act, event tickets can be resold above face value if they’re verified by the original seller or sold with a money-back guarantee.

The survey, which takes an estimated 10 minutes to complete, will be posted here until March 15.

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