Ontario planning to crack down on ticket reselling for large events such as FIFA World Cup

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Ontario is reallocating resources to help crack down on unfair ticket reselling ahead of the FIFA World Cup games in Toronto.

The office of Minister of Public & Business Service Delivery and Procurement Stephen Crawford said in a statement to CTV News Toronto Monday that all sellers are expected to comply with new ticket resale laws.

“We expect all ticket resale companies operating in the province to comply with our government’s new rules to crack down on unfair ticket resale prices,” the statement read. “We have no tolerance for bad actors trying to overcharge families.”

The Ford government recently passed promised legislation to ban reselling tickets above face value. The move follows outrage over price gouging by resellers around the Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series playoff run last year.

In the statement Monday, Crawford’s office said the ministry is adding resources to crack down on bad actors, particularly around big events like the World Cup.

“We have hundreds of full-time employees in the Consumer Protection Branch who work day in and day out to hold bad actors accountable and keep consumers safe,” the statement read.

“As part of our action to crack down on unfair ticket resale prices, the Consumer Protection Branch will be moving staff from other areas to the enforcement team for large events, such as FIFA, where higher resale activity is anticipated.”

Crawford’s office pointed out businesses that don’t comply with the legislation could face “significant fines” ranging from $3,000 up to $250,000 for continued non‑compliance.

“These changes reduce the use of bots and bulk purchasing, curb price inflation on the resale market, and give Ontario fans a fair chance to buy tickets at a reasonable price,” the statement read.

In Question Period at Queen’s Park Monday, the NDP grilled the government about why it is that tickets can still be found for Toronto events on StubHub for many times face value despite the new legislation.

Crawford responded by saying his ministry had been in touch “with all companies” involved in reselling.

“Letters have been sent to all companies. We’ve been in discussions with every organization that is a reseller of tickets, and we will be continuing discussions with them and will be further enhancing enforcement in the very near future, if not in compliance,” Crawford said.

A search on ticket reselling website StubHub Monday showed some tickets reselling from $615 to close to $3,000 for a Panama vs. Croatia match, set to take place on June 23. The original tickets to that match were sold for anywhere from $250 to $700.

The Germany v. Cote d’Ivoire matchup on June 20 went on sale with an original price range of $305 to $840 for tickets. But a search Monday on SeatGeek, another ticket resale website, shows tickets for the match selling from $870 to nearly $5,000.

In an email, a spokesperson from StubHub told CP24 that they “continue to have productive conversations with the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement and have implemented changes so newly listed tickets comply with Bill 97 while we, and the entire industry, await further guidance.”

The company said it has several outstanding questions that the government has not provided guidance on yet, including, among other things, the status of tickets that were listed for sale before Bill 97 received Royal Assent and how secondary ticket marketplaces are supposed to verify a ticket’s original price when primary ticketing companies like Ticketmaster refuse to share that information.

New ticket resale laws in spring budget

The new ticket resale laws were included in the Ford government’s spring budget bill, which passed last month.

Ticketmaster Canada, which controls the bulk of ticket sales for large sporting and concert events in Ontario, has already changed its site to comply with the new rules.

FIFA has also said that it will comply and will not permit tickets to be listed above face value on its official resale platform.

However reselling companies have argued that the new laws will drive ticket resales to shadier and less regulated spaces, while giving Ticketmaster a stronger monopoly on ticket sales.

The companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the minister’s remarks Monday.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Siobhan Morris