x

The latest industry news to your inbox.


I'd like to hear about marketing opportunities

    

I accept IQ Magazine's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

news

Australia gov urged to follow US, UK lead on bots

Australia "should be part of the "global response" to the problem of ticket bots – not "missing in action", as it is now, says LPA

By IQ on 04 May 2017

Malcolm Turnbull, prime minister of Australia, Veni Markovski

MIA? Turnbull pictured in 2015


image © Veni Markovski

Live Performance Australia (LPA) has called for Australia to follow the UK’s lead in banning ticket bots.

Now that “new laws criminalising bots have just taken force in the UK overnight“, the trade association says it is time for the government of prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to “support legislation which outlaws the use of bots to buy tickets which are then resold on the secondary market, often at vastly inflated prices”.

Using automated software to buy tickets is also illegal across the US and in the Canadian province of Ontario.

“The UK and US have taken action, but the Turnbull government is missing in action”

Among those calling from similar legislation in Australia is senator Nick Xenophon, whose parliamentary motion to ban bots is supported by opposition parties but opposed by the government.

“Bots are a problem for all ecommerce businesses, not just our industry,” says LPA chief executive Evelyn Richardson. “This is a global problem and the impact on fans is enormous. Ticketmaster has publicly reported that it blocked five billion attempts by bots to unfairly access their websites globally in 2015, and bot activity increased by 10% in 2016.

“The UK and US have taken action, but the Turnbull government is missing in action. Bots are a global problem, and Australia should be part of the global response.”

 


Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.