Ontario to Examine Ticket Sale Reforms, Bot Ban

After a period of public comment found widespread support for more transparent sales and a ban against automated ticket purchasing “Bots,” Ontario will be examining reforms to ticket selling legislation, according to The Canadian Press.

Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvi sought public feedback on the ticketing world, due in part to outcry following the Tragically Hip’s farewell tour last year, where fans of the wildly popular band from Ontario struggled to obtain tickets to the limited engagement announced in the wake of singer Gord Downey’s announcement that he was battling terminal brain cancer.

“We heard loud and clear through our survey that people are frustrated seeing the tickets they want sell out right away, only to see them pop up for resale at a massive markup,” Attorney General Yasir Naqvi said in a statement. “That isn’t fair and it isn’t right. That’s why we’re changing the rules to put fans first, provide more information to consumers, and make sure everyone has a fair shot at getting the tickets they want.”

Of the 34,700 people who responded to the government’s online survey, 96 per cent said that the total ticket price – including all taxes and fees – should be made clear up front. 89 per cent said ticket-buying software should be illegal, while 75 per cent said the total number of tickets available for sale should be disclosed.

89 per cent believed that secondary sellers should also be required to display the ticket’s original face value, and a similar number indicated a preference that there would be a cap on resale mark-ups. About 15 per cent of survey takers said they had sold tickets online in the past, and two per cent of those people said that they bought tickets for the sole purpose of reselling them.