A blanket ban on generating a profit from reselling tickets is the only way to protect fans from being ripped off by touts who operate on secondary markets, according to Twickets founder Richard Davies.
Twickets is a secondary ticketing provider that offers tickets at face value, whilst also tracking buyers and sellers to identify any suspicious activities.
In an interview with Festival Insights, Davies said that he welcomed the Waterson Report, released earlier this year, which recommended several ways of combating the worst elements of the secondary market.
However, he questioned whether the report – and the response from the UK government – would be enough.
“Professor Waterson’s report addressed many of the issues relating to the resale market, and it was at least a step in the right direction,” he said. “Importantly he called for the enforcement of existing legislation – something our recent parliamentary petition called for, amassing an incredible 85,000 signatures in the process.
“Whilst he really got to grips with the issues and set out a variety of pragmatic recommendations, it is questionable whether the government will take these forward.
“In our view though, the only way fans can be properly protected is through a blanket ban on resale for profit – as has been implemented in other markets around the world, and was successfully achieved for London 2012. In that respect the recommendations fell short.
“In addition, the report seemingly pointed the finger (in part) at event organisers for creating the conditions for the secondary market, but doesn’t consider that they are seeking to make music, arts and sports events affordable.”
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