The NSW government has proposed reforms to fair trading laws to stop price gouging by ticket scalpers.
Proposed ticket-scalping reforms in NSW will help stamp out price gouging in the live entertainment industry, the state government says.
The provisions would stop anyone reselling a ticket to a NSW event for more than the original sale price and cap transaction costs at 10 per cent, Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean said in a statement on Sunday.
"I'm sick and tired of consumers being taken for a ride by shonky operators looking to make a quick buck at the expense of ordinary fans," he said.
Other proposed changes to the Fair Trading Act include the outlawing of "bots" that allow scalpers to buy tickets in large quantities and a crackdown on advertising for tickets that breach resale laws.
Consumer group Choice said the reforms were only the first step in cleaning up the "utter shambles" in the resale industry and called on ticketing companies to do more.
Spokesman Tom Godfrey said one of the "dodgiest" resellers, Viagogo, could remain untouched because it was based overseas.
"The primary ticketing market needs to step up and invest in innovations to reduce fraud within the industry," he said in a statement.
Mr Godfrey suggested allowing name changes on tickets or developing better ticketing systems would be a "strong first step".
Source: AAP
The article appeared on SBS News
