British Govt Crack Down On Ticket Scalping Bots While Australia Keeps Its Head In The Sand

Given the week that Australia has had when it comes to ticket scalping, we should really be paying attention to the fact that the British government is set to crack down on the use of computer programs which buy large quantities of tickets at one time and sell them at a much higher price.

According to Billboard, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee announced that the government is calling for a ban of the programs, or bots, following an evidence session which exposed the "distortion" of the ticketing market caused by the bots. 

Leading UK secondary ticketing services, including Viagogo, Get Me In, StubHub and Seatwave, are also set to come under investigation after the committee said in a statement that there are "clear indications of too close relationships between those selling tickets on the primary market and sellers on the secondary market".

Chairman of Ticketmaster UK, Chris Edmonds, head of legal (Europe) at eBay-owned StubHub, Paul Peak, eBay's head of public affairs and government relations, Alasdair McGowan and ticket security firm Iridium Consultancy's Reg Walker were among those who gave evidence at the session earlier this week.

While Walker claimed that some sellers are paid in advance, Wildlife Entertainment's Ian McAndrew (Artic Monkeys) alleged that he has been approached more than once by secondary ticket companies to give them inventory for a cut of the resale profit. 

"That is a proposal I've refused on a number of occasions, but I can understand how that would be a temptation for some who want to maximize profits for a show," McAndrew said. 

The news comes only days after Aussie punters slammed Ticketek for the handling of the upcoming Jerry Seinfeld tour, which tickets for shows around the country sold out within minutes. 

In less than an hour after the gigs did sell out, tickets were available for purchase on resale sites for more than triple the cost, with some listed at well over $2000. 

"Ticketek as the official ticketing agent does not condone the resale scalper websites," the ticketing company wrote in a statement to The Music's Twitter page on Tuesday. 

"They are predatory and misleading. We are working with the industry and lobbying regulators to take action against the scalpers."

@gottamatch @TheMusicComAu Ticketek as the official ticketing agent does not condone the resale scalper websites. They are predatory 1/3

— Ticketek Australia (@Ticketek_AU) November 15, 2016

@gottamatch @TheMusicComAu and misleading. We are working with the industry and lobbying regulators to take action against the scalpers. 2/3

— Ticketek Australia (@Ticketek_AU) November 15, 2016