The New South Wales (NSW) parliament has approved new regulation that caps the price of resold tickets at 10 per cent, in a move that could redefine the secondary ticketing sector in Australia.
Just over a week ago, the state’s Minister for Better Regulation, Matthew Kean, announced the plans to prevent resellers from being able to offer tickets for more than the original sale price, while transaction costs would be capped at 10 per cent.
New South Wales, whose cities include Sydney, is Australia’s most populous state with 7.5 people.
The legislation has now been passed by the state Parliament, meaning any breaches will now see resellers facing fines of up to Aus$22,000 ($17,300/£13,200/€14,600) for individuals, and Aus$110,000 for companies.
The bill also gives power to the government to force event organisers to reveal the number of tickets being made available, while ads for the resale of event tickets that go over the 10 per cent cap are also prohibited. The use of ticket scalping bots has also been outlawed under the new regulations.
“We will stop the bots,” Kean told Parliament. “Ordinary sports and live entertainment fans are finding it harder and harder to access tickets. These laws will go a long way towards protecting genuine fans.
“The legislation puts consumers first and introduces measures to improve information transparency in the primary and secondary markets.
“It will prevent price gouging by dishonest scalpers and ban the use of bots to buy tickets in breach of a website’s terms and conditions.”
The move comes after months of protests in Australia about ticket scalping, and consumer group, Choice, in August said there is a “need for urgent reform in the industry.”
Viagogo is already facing federal court charges brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commissions (ACCC) over alleged misleading representations and huge booking fees.
The Australian state of Victoria is also looking into similar changes in the law, with a motion introduced by Nick Xenophon earlier this year passing through the Senate.
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