Here in the States, sports fans across the board have a variety of opinions about the secondhand market for sporting event tickets. My feeling is that it sucks, but it’s also a necessary evil - since the tickets aren’t sold at Fair Market Value, or if they aren’t enough of them to meet demand, or whatever, the secondary market kind of evens things out. But on the other hand, it puts the consumer at a disadvantage because we have to pay a premium for tickets rather than face price (which can be high to begin with).
What’s the mood on this over on the other side of The Pond? Is there even a legal secondary market for sports tickets? Is it considered bad form (or a word like that) to buy secondary-market tickets?
In Ireland, it’s illegal to resell tickets for major events, or events at major venues, for more than the face price. There’s an exemption for sports clubs and charities who can resell tickets e.g. by auction to raise funds for the club or charity, but otherwise it’s not permitted.
On the flip side, event promoters cannot restrict the resale or transfer of tickets, unless there are objective grounds of safety, public health or public order to justify the restriction. So if you buy a ticket to an event but subsequently change your mind or cannot go, you have the right to resell the ticket for face price (or less).
These rules were introduced in 2021. Prior to that the resale of tickets for popular events at substantial markups was commonplace. It was known as “scalping” or “touting” and it was common for scalpers to try to buy up tickets for high-demand events in bulk, often using bot technology, with a view to resale at a profit. The practice was widely deplored and the scalping ban was, and remains, popular.
Ticket scalping still happens, in relation to events in other countries that Irish people may wish to attend, and also in relation to events in Ireland where scalped tickets are offered by foreign resellers on websites operating outside Ireland. But the scale of the activity is much reduced.
I agree with the previous. Where I am in Europe, bulk buying for the purpose of profiteering is extremely frowned upon.
In recent years, technical measures have been introduced to block the practice. I recently went to a concert here in Luxembourg, and I was required to use a specific app identified by the venue to show my ticket. No paper ticket, no printout with a bar code, none of that. Instead, as I got to the front of the line, I tapped the “show ticket” button, and it generated a time-limited QR code with a countdown to expiration. This was scanned by the staffer at the entrance, and I was allowed to pass. I’ve heard that our largest sports venue uses the same app for major events.
The app does have an integrated marketplace, where you can offer your ticket for sale and transfer it to another user, but it’s designed for one-offs. If you’re a scalper trying to buy and move dozens of tickets at a time, it would be so difficult as to be practically impossible.
I’m sure this is hugely annoying for people who choose not to carry smartphones, but as a mechanism to lock a specific ticket to a specific owner and constrain large-scale reselling, it’s pretty reasonable.