Ontario Fines SeatGeek for Breaching Ticket Resale Laws
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Ontario Fines SeatGeek for Breaching Ticket Resale Laws
- Ontario has issued a $25,000 fine to SeatGeek Canada, marking the first penalty under the province's updated anti-scalping legislation.
- The fine, issued on August 28, resulted from SeatGeek allegedly exceeding resale price caps, failing to disclose total original prices, and facilitating sales without proof of original purchase price.
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Ontario has begun enforcing its updated Ticket Sales Act of 2017, which now prohibits the resale of tickets for more than their original total price, including all fees and taxes. This legislation, which came into effect in April, aims to combat ticket scalping and protect consumers from excessive markups.
On August 28, SeatGeek Canada was fined $25,000, consisting of three administrative penalties: $10,000 for exceeding the resale price cap, $5,000 for not disclosing the total original price of a ticket, and another $10,000 for facilitating a sale without proof of the original purchase price. This action makes SeatGeek the first company to face financial repercussions under the strengthened law.
Joe Freeman, SeatGeek’s vice-president of government affairs, has stated that the company is seeking guidance on compliance, noting the difficulty in obtaining original ticket face values for all types of sales, particularly those sold as packages. Other major ticket resellers like StubHub have also expressed challenges in adhering to the new regulations, arguing that some tickets, such as season passes, lack clear face values. The province’s Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery, Stephen Crawford, emphasized that all ticket sellers in Ontario must comply with the legislation, with potential fines for corporations reaching up to $250,000.