Philippines senator tables anti-touting bill

A Philippines senator has tabled a new bill promising stiff penalties for ticket touts including fines and jail terms

The Southeast Asian country hosted gigs by Coldplay and Dua Lipa in 2024, as well as Filipina-American singer Olivia Rodrigo’s biggest show to date, drawing more than 2.1 million fans across 154 concerts overall.

But senator Mark Villar warns that the increased demand has led to challenges “including the proliferation of ticket scalping or the practice of reselling admission tickets at an inflated or predatory price”.

Villar says the trend undermines “the consumers’ right to fair access to entertainment scenes” as well as “encouraging price gouging”, and has filed the Anti-Ticket Scalping Act. The bill seeks to prohibit touting in the country “to protect consumers from exploitation and guarantee fair access to events of their favourite artists or performers”.

Under the legislation, resale of tickets for more than 10% above face value would be banned.

“We filed this bill to stop or curb the worsening scalping in the country that is taking advantage of our fellow concertgoers or avid fans,” says Villar. It is no longer reasonable for these scalpers to charge inhumane prices for concert and event tickets.

“Our goal is to provide fair access to fans and concertgoers who truly desire to go to concerts at a reasonable price. They do not deserve the unrestrained exploitation of scalpers. Every fan and every Filipino deserves to enjoy concerts without being extorted by scammers.”

“These scalpers are scammers and we will not allow them to increase in number and continue to deceive Filipinos”

There is currently no specific law criminalising touting in the Philippines at a national level. However, the bill aims to prohibit the “offering, hoarding, selling, distributing, buying, dealing in, disposing of, or otherwise acquiring admission tickets for entertainment events, without written permission from the authorised event producer, organiser, and distributor”.

In addition, financing, managing, or operating ticket scalping activities “on a large scale” will also be penalised.

“As a prevention measure, event ticketing, event production and event service entities will also be required to publish or post reminders against scalping on their premises or websites,” says Villar. “They are also ordered to adopt and implement internal policy guidelines and mechanisms to prevent scalping activities among their employees, contractors and agents.”

According to the bill, anyone convicted of ticket scalping will be fined Php 100,000 (€1,673) and/or six months in prison for the first offence. The punishment could then increase to Php 500,000 (€8,364) and/or three years’ jail for the third and subsequent offences.

“In addition to the company, directors, members, officers and employees involved in scalping can also be held liable,” adds Villar. “We will actively promote and fight for the enactment of this bill against these scalpers and to give our countrymen fair access to concerts and events. These scalpers are scammers and we will not allow them to increase in number and continue to deceive Filipinos.”

An in-depth report on secondary ticketing regulation around the world will appear in the upcoming ILMC edition of IQ Magazine.

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.