CCAAC Investigates Online Ticket Scalping

The Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council (CCAAC) has announced a review into ticket onselling and its impact on consumers.

Under its terms of reference CCAAC will examine the following matters as part of its review:

• Whether there is consumer detriment and, if so, the level of detriment posed by ticket onselling practices;
• The views of stakeholders affected by ticket onselling practices, including consumer groups, ticketing organisations, auction/reselling websites, and peak sporting and live entertainment bodies;
• Actions currently undertaken by industry that seek to limit ticket purchasing by scalpers for re sale;
• The identification of any non regulatory options that could address any harmful practices arising from ticket onselling practices;
• The effectiveness of consumer information to address any consumer detriment associated with ticket onselling practices;
• The effectiveness of current legislation related to ticket onselling practices;
• The impact of technology on ticket onselling practices; and
• The effectiveness of international approaches that address any consumer detriment related to ticket onselling and the appropriateness of these approaches for the Australian marketplace.

The Issues Paper examines current practices relating to ticket onselling and considers possible market responses, including both regulatory and non-regulatory options, and their cost and effectiveness.

Among ticketing providers, moshtix General Manager Adam McArthur has welcomed the review, stating "moshtix prides itself on its anti-scalping policies which weâve had in place for the past three years.

"We are the only major ticketing company who implements a strict policy to ensure tickets are sold to genuine buyers at a fair, marketed price.

"It's great that the Government is stepping in and acknowledging the severe impact scalping has on the multi-million dollar entertainment and sports industries.

"Too many punters are continually being ripped off by ticket scalpers who re-sell tickets on auction sites for inflated prices. In some cases, tickets purchased from scalpers arenât even delivered to the buyer.

"Unfortunately, because of the unscrupulous practices of these scalpers genuine fans are missing out on tickets to their favourite act or festival event.

"Ticketing companies need to start taking more responsibility of the issue by implementing and adapting technology tools to support anti-scalping.

"I am surprised customers and promoters do not ask more from their ticketing provider to offer a more secure ticketing experience.

"moshtix continually works toward providing a fair ticket purchasing experience where a legitimate customer can buy tickets, and where a promoter can effectively manage the market they create for their tickets."

Through the moshtix ticketing system, promoters and event organisers can implement a number of anti-scalping methods as required.

As McArthur continues, "we understand that some of our anti-scalping methods may not be suitable for particular events, however, we are committed to working closely with promoters and venue managers to determine various processes that minimise scalping activities as much as possible.

"We will be participating in the review and are looking forward to seeing the results of this review and encourage all relevant parties to provide their comments on the white paper."

Parties wanting to comment on the paper are asked to do so by Friday 23rd July 2010.
CCAAC provides advice to the Federal Treasurer on consumer policy issues.

For more information go to www.treasury.gov.au/contentitem.asp?NavId=002&ContentID=1821