Canadians fed up with ticket-selling bots: poll
Posted May 12, 2017 7:27 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Forget trying to get last-minute tickets to tonight’s U2 concert here in Vancouver.
They were scooped up minutes after they went on sale.
A quick search online does reveal some seats still for sale, though they come with huge markups from scalpers.
They rely on sophisticated software or bots that can buy thousands of tickets almost instantaneously.
Now a poll shows Canadians have had enough of the practice.
“(People aren’t happy with) bots and ticket resales that often really block the access or create a barrier to people who would like to attend concerts,” says pollster Shachi Kurl with Angus Reid.
That extends to sporting events and other large conventions, and that feeling is one shared by a majority of Canadians.
“Three-quarters of Canadians do sound a sour note on this issue, saying that it is a huge problem, one that they say must be solved,” says Kurl.
“And more than that, you find eight in 10 Canadians say they would actually support legislation that would ban those ticket-selling bots in this country.”
Ontario has taken steps towards banning the practice as has New York State.
Kurl says there is majority support for banning ticket re-sales outright or putting a limit on how much they can be re-sold for.
