South Australian Government ticket resale crackdown sees four people fined

A crackdown on ticket scalping and reselling by the South Australian Government has seen four people fined for trying to sell tickets at inflated prices to British comedian Michael McIntyre's 2020 performance at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

The South Australian Government's new anti-scalping laws came into effect in December 2018, making it illegal for people to resell tickets for more than a 10% mark-up.

Since then, it has received more than 37 complaints from consumers for events including the Hilltop Hoods, Hugh Jackman, Shawn Mendes and major sporting fixtures.

The South Australian Government also does its own monitoring, and has issued 70 take-down notices.

Tickets for Canadian singer-songwriter Mendes’ Adelaide concert last Saturday night - part of a national tour - were advertised on resale websites at close to $400 each.

Another example has seen tickets for Michael McIntyre's Big World Tour show in Adelaide in March being advertised for $250 above the original price.

The fine for such an offence is $550, but so far no-one has been prosecuted, with the laws still in an early rollout phase.

The $550 fine is for an individual, or $20,000 for more serious offences.

Businesses engaging in scalping could face penalties of up to $100,000.

However, despite the crackdown, secondary websites are still selling tickets at inflated prices.

Tickets for Sunday's Twenty20 cricket match between Australia and Sri Lanka at Adelaide Oval were advertised for more than double the original price through Switzerland-based reseller Viagogo.

Cricket Australia spokesperson Malcolm Conn said fans should buy tickets from official outlets.

Conn told the ABC “we're very keen to make sure that all cricket fans get the opportunity to go and watch their teams and their home states.

"Anyone who wants to watch the Twenty20 in Adelaide … should go to Ticketek, make sure they get their tickets from the official outlet because you may not get in if you invest your money in other places."

Image: Events at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre are bing targetted by scalpers.