Featured Image: Andrius Petrucenia/CC BY-SA 2.0
The Government of Western Australia has warned ticket resellers of the financial penalties they could face prior to the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 305 event taking place at Perth’s RAC Arena on August 18.
The warning comes as new figures reveal fines of A$2,000 (£1,000/$1,300/€1,200) were issued to 16 people for reselling tickets to Coldplay concerts at Optus Stadium in November.
The individuals sold tickets for more than 10% over the original price which is in breach of Western Australia’s ticket scalping laws.
Mark-ups in these 16 cases ranged from 53% to 507%. In one case, a four-ticket bundle with an original sale price of A$1,861 was advertised for A$4,100 online.
“Let this be a lesson for anyone thinking about reselling tickets to popular events at illegally inflated prices – it will catch up with you,” said Commerce Minister Sue Ellery.
“Along with investigating reports from the public, Consumer Protection enforcement staff monitor online selling platforms and marketplaces for ticket advertisements that breach the laws and can track down the offenders.
“The 16 infringement notices from the Coldplay events show how seriously we continue to take breaches of WA’s ticket scalping laws, with $2,000 infringements able to be issued, or even higher penalties awaiting those who are taken to court.”
Courts may impose penalties of up to A$20,000 for individuals found to have breached ticket scalping legislation.
Even higher penalties of up to A$100,000 can apply to those illegally using bots to bulk buy tickets.
“With popular sporting events, like the UFC 305 event, becoming increasingly common on the WA calendar, it’s timely to remind the public about the hazards of buying tickets through unauthorised sources,” Ellery said.
“Not only do they risk paying far more than the tickets are worth, but they could also be turned away at the gate if the tickets are invalid or fake.”
The government has urged UFC fans to only buy through the authorised ticket seller Ticketek or its official resale site Ticketek Marketplace to avoid paying too much or buying invalid tickets.
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