TICKET TOUTS ARE cashing in on the demand for Ireland’s World Cup playoff against Denmark this month with many charging over €700 for a ticket.
Ireland secured a playoff berth following a 1-0 win over Wales in Cardiff earlier this month which heralded Wednesday initial scramble for tickets.
The tickets go on general release today but a number of people who were eligible to buy presale passes didn’t manage to get one as the demand was so high.
Despite the tickets not even being on general release, this hasn’t stopped people putting them on sale using resale site such as Viagogo.
A quick search of options showed how sellers were charging multiples of the face value of the ticket.
Some which would usually have a a value of €30 were costing €180. One ticket which would usually sell for around €55 was on sale on Viagogo for €704.
Fine Gael TD Noel Rock has been working on bringing in a law which would make touting illegal.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie about the latest news, Rock said: “The fact that tickets have gone up on certain websites for five times face value only hours after the presale and a full day before the general release of tickets to the public underlines once again how truly dysfunctional this market is.
If people want to gouge, they can. Despite the best efforts of the FAI, IRFU and GAA to stamp this out, what is needed is either a change in regulations from the ticketing companies or a change in legislation from the Government. It’s clear the ticket companies won’t move on this, so therefore Government must.
Rock said the legislation was needed because regulation was not functioning, and said his bill was based on Belgian legislation which has had a positive effect.
The move was prompted earlier this year by the mounting anger among U2 fans who were unable to buy tickets for the band’s Croke Park concert in before they sold out.
Tickets soon became available through resale websites and private touts at inflated prices.
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