Attention scumbags: The WA Government is introducing ticket scalping laws this Summer

Header photo at Laneway Festival 2018 by Lostwithoutatrace. Full gallery HERE.

A few years ago, we questioned who were the biggest dickheads of our festival culture: fence jumpers, would may potentially injure others thanks to there disinterest in forking out a bit of money for events; or scalpers, the bottom-of-the-barrel folks who buy tickets at their cheapest and resell them at marked-up prices because of ol' supply and demand economics. We didn't really come to a conclusion as they're just as bad as each other, but thanks to new legislation being introduced to WA parliament this week, it looks like the scalpers may finally meet their match.

After rejecting an initial anti-scalping plea in 2016, the WA government is aiming to introduce The Ticket Scalping Bill 2018 to parliament this week, which if passed and made into law in early 2019, will cap the cost of resale tickets at the risk of significant fines. According to The Music Network, the regulations will cap resale tickets at 10% of the face value - i.e. a $100 ticket can be sold for $110, but nothing more - with fines of up to $20,000 for individuals and $100,000 for companies that don't apply. According to Commerce and Industrial Relations Minister Bill Johnston, the laws will cover "most outdoor concerts, most of the events at RAC Arena and the large events like AFL matches at Optus Stadium," many of which feature already-expensive shows that in resale, sell for over $1000.

The law will be enforced by staff at the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, who will monitor ticket resale facilities and event pages for people or companies breaching the law, while arrangements are being made to suggest the banning of third-party bots which often snap up tickets before they sell out, sending them to resale facilities and websites such as Viagogo who mark up the ticket prices.

The legislation comes as Lunatic Entertainment - the group behind Laneway Festival and Laneway Presents shows (such as Florence and the Machine's forthcoming Australian return) - make a call-out for people who have had negative experiences with buying festival and concert tickets through reselling sites such as Viagogo, who "intend to give this documentation to the Opposition Party to form part of their campaign pledge to have this site closed down." Find more details on that via the post below.