Anti-scalping laws in the Australian state of Victoria could soon include some live music events, while also criminalising the selling of tickets at inflated prices.
The state’s Major Sporting Events Act is currently being overhauled in order to include some concerts, the Herald Sun newspaper reports.
Additionally, the new laws would provide police and security guards with looser search powers and the ability to ‘seize and retain’ tickets if punters are kicked out of shows or turned away at the gate.
Outside the venues, police and security would also be allowed a wider space in which they can fine scalpers. The changes could also increase fines on secondary ticket sellers that hike ticket prices well above the face value, including online secondary ticketing businesses.
According to the Music Feeds website, sports minister John Eren said the Victorian government is “working with our stakeholders to develop a blueprint that stops scalpers in their tracks, improves safety and boosts security at all major events”.
Before any final decisions are made, discussion papers about the proposed changes have been reportedly sent to Victoria Police, several different ticketing agencies and stadium officials to provide feedback to the state.
Last month, the Australian senate passed an anti-bots bill proposed by the prominent campaigning politician Nick Xenophon.
The motion was not supported by the Australian government, but passed the senate with the support of a broad coalition. Xenophon’s motion and the rest of the bill now returns to the House of Representatives before progressing to potentially become law.
Currently, legislation relating to ticketing in Australia is handled at a state level, but Xenophon believes a federal law would be preferable.
Share this