Italians may not be quite as supportive of legislation restricting the secondary ticketing market as some claim, according to new research released by operator Ticketbis.
Nearly two thirds of Italians believe they should be able to do as they wish with tickets they have purchased, according to a survey compiled by APCO Insight on behalf of the eBay-owned company.
Just over half of respondents said they should have the right to resell tickets for events they can no longer attend. The same amount (51 per cent) said they feel safer buying ticket for a sold-out event on an online marketplace.
Ticketbis, which was bought by eBay for $165m (£130m) last year, found that a quarter of those polled have tried alternative methods to buy event tickets for sold-out events. Of those who sought alternative methods to buy tickets, 41 per cent have visited an online marketplace, 49 per cent tried on social networks and 67 per cent turned to family and friends.
Spain-headquartered Ticketbis said it commissioned the study “to understand the behaviour of the Italians and their attitude against the phenomenon of secondary ticketing”.
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The research also analysed the attitude of Italians towards the recent rules on the secondary ticketing promoted by the Ministry of Culture. Just 38 per cent believe that all stakeholders affected by this decision – such as consumer associations, ticket resellers platforms and artists – should be involved in decision-making related to the resale of tickets. 40 per cent believe that the government proposed legislation in response to pressure from the media on this subject.
Legislation that would ban the reselling of tickets for commercial gain was passed by Italy’s parliament last month. After an outcry over resale prices for Coldplay tickets last year, Ticketone employed PwC to oversee its sale of U2 tickets earlier this month.
Ander Michelena, chief executive and co-founder of Ticketbis, said: “As this research shows, the resale of tickets is a complex issue that needs to be understood in all its aspects. The legislation promoted by the Ministry of Culture was a hasty decision, which will push the resale of tickets to the black market, without in any way solving the recently emerging issues in the media.
“We appreciate the initiative of the Cultural Commission of the Chamber of Deputies that, as part of a survey, launched a stakeholder consultation. However, this process should have taken place earlier. We encourage policy makers to make every necessary step to correct a regulation that is likely only damage the Italian consumers, while creating a climate of mistrust for start-up and for the tech sector actors in the institutions and the business environment of the country.”
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