The Ford government says its planned cap on ticket resales will be in force ahead of Toronto’s World Cup matches — a move one observer says will be “completely unenforceable.”
As part of its upcoming budget, the province is planning to ban people from reselling tickets to sports matches and concerts for more than their face value.
Those who break the rules face as-yet-undetermined fines.
The government said its policy is designed to come into effect when it passes through the legislature and becomes law. It will apply to all events held after it is passed, including all six Toronto World Cup matches.
The Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement said it would apply to the World Cup — and would essentially retroactively ban resales of tickets to their original sale price.
For example, if someone had originally bought their World Cup ticket for $600 and then resold it for $1,200 to someone else, that person would have to resell it for $600 — potentially leaving fans who have already bought resale tickets high and dry.
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Kingsley Bailey, a veteran ticket broker and the general manager of the website Vancouverticket.com, said the policy was “completely unenforceable” and would not take effect.
“When I first heard about it I laughed. And then, listening to the boiler plate response from Ticketmaster (that) it’s going to increase prices, I laughed even more,” he told Global News.
Among the issues is the fact FIFA has set up its own resale platform, where tickets can be resold without price limits. Bailey pointed out fans in other parts of Canada could resell tickets for Toronto games on that platform without facing consequences.
A spokesperson for FIFA did not address questions from Global News about Ontario’s resale ban and instead touted its cap-free resale platform in a statement.
“The FIFA Resale Marketplace is available to Canadian, American and international residents,” part of their statement read.
Bailey said that if the Ford government is serious about applying its cap to the World Cup it would have to look at punishing FIFA for allowing unregulated resales.
“FIFA’s created a platform where the consumer can sell their ticket for whatever they want,” he said.
“Right off the bat, if Doug Ford were able to implement this legislation at the provincial level, he’s going to have to fine FIFA for charging excessive amounts for their tickets.”
The legislation is expected to be part of the budget, which will be tabled on Thursday afternoon.
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