Ticket Scalping: A National Issue

Only eleven tickets were listed on the secondary market for MLB’s Tokyo Series just twelve hours before the first pitch!

This is because Japan banned ticket scalping in 2019. If someone were caught reselling a ticket for more than face value, they would face a $7000 fine, or up to one year in prison. If someone was even willing to buy the more expensive tickets, they may not be admitted to the event.

This is a predominant issue in sports and live entertainment, and Japan is the first to crack down on it effectively.

What is scalping?

Scalping refers to the action of purchasing tickets for an event to resell them for a profit. Why is this a problem though, first come first serve, and the rest can deal with it, right?

Well, no. Diehard fans shouldn’t have to pay 70x more for a ticket to the Eras tour. Nor should they spend $1500 for a seat in the bleachers for the 4 Nations Facing Off tournament.

This ridiculous increase in price has even led to fewer fans attending games. Even college football saw a 7% decrease over the last decade.

Not to mention the impact it has on teams. Less people = less money on merch and food. No bueno for business owners.

Solutions?

Although Japan has cracked the code, it could be more difficult in North America. As Ticketmaster owns the majority of the market, they’ll never allow a ban to be implemented. Between face-value tickets sold and secondary tickets sold, they’re making a fortune. Why eliminate a primary means of that income?

Since they can’t ban scalping, outlaw the use of bots!

Sometimes, scalpers will buy bots to stay on a site for presale and program them to buy as many tickets as possible. By banning this, they’re only able to obtain a few tickets, which leaves more face-value tickets for the fans.

They’re the most important part of the game, right? Let them in!