We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
A PROPOSED LAW banning the sale of concert/sports tickets above their face value or capping prices won’t work in Ireland, according a major ticket reselling website.
In an interview with TheJournal.ie, StubHub’s global head of public affairs, Aimee Campbell, said there will always be people selling tickets at a higher than face value no matter what legislation is brought into place and that targeting the initial distribution of tickets would create a better and fairer environment for those wanting to buy.
StubHub makes 15% commission on the final price for any ticket so it comes as no surprise that it does not wish for price caps to be introduced on ticket resales – something which has been put forward by members of the Oireachtas.
Recent checks on its website shows how tickets for Ireland’s game against England at Twickenham this weekend can cost up to €5,100. The higher the price, the more commission StubHub makes on the transaction. Users can put tickets up for sale and choose how much they want to sell them for
When asked if she thought this unscrupulous pricing was fair on Irish or English fans wanting to attend the game, Campbell said: “This is an insanely exceptional circumstance. It’s Ireland against England on St Patrick’s Day. But what I would say is that you see that ticket there still because nobody will pay for it. We want the market to correct itself. We feel that if nobody is willing to pay for it then the seller will be forced to drop that price.”
Fine Gael TD Noel Rock has been a vocal critic of reselling websites. Ticket touting has become an increasingly prevalent problem in Ireland, with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commissioner undertaking an investigation on the matter. Rock introduced a Private Member’s Bill to the Dáil alongside Fianna Fáil’s Stephen Donnelly back in 2016 which would see touting become illegal.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Rock said: “I always wonder what these companies have to lose from a touting law being implemented. They’ve put an awful lot of effort into talking one down. Could it be that it puts their sky-high commission at risk?
“The reality is that companies like Viagogo and StubHub do incredibly well for themselves at the expense of real fans, while currently getting no real scrutiny. We need to bring real transparency and accountability to these markets and I intend to do that.”
Rock himself has said that he was disappointed with how slowly his Bill is moving through the Oireachtas. He said that he is still committed to ensuring it passes and that tighter regulation will be enforced.
Aimee Campbell thinks otherwise.
She argues that no matter what you do, touting will always exist in one form of another. She also argued what her firm does is guarantees that the person actually gets a ticket or does not lose their money if it is cancelled.
The proposals to cap prices will create more of a problem than the problem it is trying to solve. If you cap markets, it drives trade elsewhere. If people are willing to pay a higher price, they will find somewhere to purchase it – it’s the same with those selling. If supply is too low, price will always go up.
What’s the solution?
Instead of legislation which would ban the resale of tickets at a higher price, StubHub said Ireland should introduce legislation similar to that which was enacted in the UK last year. This law outlawed the misuse of so-called bots which allow touts to purchase hundreds of tickets in the fraction of the time it would usually take.
In the UK, the misuse of bots is currently illegal but actually buying one is not – and this is an aspect of law which Ireland could benefit from, according to Campbell. Buying one of the bots costs around €500.
Campbell added: “We’ve always been against them. For us it makes the most sense this way as it increases the number of tickets that can be bought by genuine buyers.
“But once again, a law is only good if it is being enforced. Without that it has no point.”
Rock says he took on the touts to highlight the scale of touting.
“Fundamentally I disagree with ticket touting. It stops fans like you and me from going to matches and concerts at the price we should be going to them for.
“The IRFU disagree with touts, the GAA disagree with touting, the FAI disagree with touting, but the law doesn’t disagree with touting.
“That’s why I’ve proposed a Bill to change the law and make sure that above cost ticket selling will no longer take place. The law has passed the first stage in the Dáil but it still has a bit further to go.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say