The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

Bots Technology Ticketmaster

Ticket bot ban will see touts face unlimited fines for bulk buying

Author

By Rebecca Stewart, Trends Editor

March 11, 2017 | 3 min read

The UK government is set to announce a number of measures to crackdown on ticket touts, including making it illegal to use bots which bypass limits on the number of tickets a person can buy.

TICKET TOUTS BOTS ADELE GIG

Ticket bot ban will see touts face unlimited fines for bulk buying

As first reported by the Guardian, the Department of Culture, Media and Spot (DCMS) is to announce a package of regulations designed to curb the power of the secondary ticketing industry.

The use of automated bots, which can buy tickets on bulk and relist them at a higher price almost immediately, will soon become a criminal offence with those who are caught facing unlimited fines.

The move comes just a week after ticket resale site Viagogo was accused of “profiteering at the expense of teenage cancer sufferers” for listing tickets for an Ed Sheeran charity concert at up to £5,000 a ticket.

As well as making use of the tech illegal ministers at DCMS will accept in full the recommendations of a report by Professor Michael Waterson, who published proposals to tackle the issue in 2016.

In the review, he suggested that big ticket sellers – like Ticketmaster – should have stricter anti-bot systems in place to protect consumers and that they should have facilities to report 'bot attacks'.

Culture minister Matt Hancock said in a statement: "This profiteering is simply not fair, so we are acting to put fans first and improve the chances of seeing our favourite musicians and sports stars at a reasonable price.

"Ticket sellers also need to do more, by improving transparency and ensuring that they are acting in the best interests of consumers and help the market work for everyone."

Artists like Adele have spoken out against touts in the past, with the singer recently revealing that only fans with names printed on their tickets will be able to enter her Wembley shows in July.

Bots Technology Ticketmaster

More from Bots

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +