Press Release
Ontario is reviewing the rules for buying and selling tickets online to give fans a fair shot at getting tickets to see their favourite team, musical act, or theatrical performance.
Event tickets mostly are bought and sold online.
While this has given fans more options, it also means tickets to popular shows and games often sell-out within hours–sometimes minutes.
Many tickets then are posted on resale sites at a price much higher than their original value, which leaves fans unable to find the tickets they want at a price they can afford.
Starting yesterday, fans can help the government develop new legislation that would make the process of buying and selling tickets more fair and transparent by sharing their ideas through an online consultation.
To participate, go to ontario.ca/tickets and complete the survey.
Ontarians will have until March 15 to participate in the survey.
The province is looking for feedback in four key areas:
•Access–making sure everyone has a fair shot at buying tickets for popular events;
•Affordability–addressing consumer concerns about resale prices and service charges;
•Transparency–making more information available to consumers when they buy tickets; and
•Enforcement–making sure laws are followed.
Making it easier to find tickets online is part of Ontario’s plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.
The United States, United Kingdom, and Italy each have taken steps in recent years to increase fairness, transparency, and consumer protection in the online ticket market.
According to a Music Canada report, live music contributed nearly $1.2 billion to Ontario’s economy in 2013.
