New Ontario consumer protection law looks to ban ticket bots

Oct 5 2017, 10:44 pm

The Ontario government has been working on improving consumer protection laws over the past year.

This summer, the province introduced new rules to make sure customers know exactly what they are paying for when booking flights and trips. And as of January 1, Ontario travel agents will be required to display the total cost, including taxes and fees, in any travel ads that include prices.

Also, the government proposed new laws against resales of event tickets and proposed banning bots through the new Ticket Sales Act.

Ontario’s proposed changed includes banning ticket bots and the sale of tickets purchased using bots, capping resale prices at 50% above face value, requiring resale businesses to disclose information to consumers, and establishing new enforcement measures to help make sure that ticket selling and reselling businesses are following the law.

And now, the province is introducing the general Strengthening Protection for Ontario Consumers Act, which includes further travel protection for customers, and includes the proposed Ticket Sales Act.

“Stronger rules for buying and selling tickets will help give fans a fair shot at getting music, sports or theatre ticket,” said Yasir Naqvi, Attorney General, in a statement. “Our proposed changes will ban bots and excessive mark ups, prevent fraud, and provide more information in the ticket industry. We are putting fans first by making the industry more transparent and tickets more affordable.”

During a consultation period earlier this year, the government surveyed more than 34,000 fans between February 28 and March 15, and had over 16,000 responses in the first 24 hours. In fact, it was one of the most popular online surveys ever conducted by the province.

“Building a fair, safe and informed marketplace is a key priority of this government,” said Tracy MacCharles, Minister of Government and Consumer Services. “We are committed to strengthening consumer protection and making it work better for everyone.”

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