Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his government is eyeing legislation that would cap ticket resale prices as thousands of Toronto Blue Jays fans find themselves priced out of World Series tickets that are now reselling for thousands of dollars.
“They’re gouging the people,” Ford told reporters during a scrum at Queen’s Park Wednesday. “When you have one player in the market that controls the tickets, that’s not right for the people. So we’re actually right now considering legislation.”
World Series tickets for four home games went on sale Tuesday morning and were almost completely snatched up within 30 minutes. However resale tickets almost immediately appeared on Ticketmaster’s website for many times the price of face-value tickets.
As of Wednesday afternoon, some tickets for Game 7 were listed for as much as $16,000 on resale sites. After the Blue Jay released a limited number of general admission standing tickets Wednesday for around $345 each, they sold out in minutes, only for those tickets to quickly reappear for sale on Ticketmaster and other sites for around $1,200.
“I just don’t believe in one company controlling everything, and that’s what’s happening right now with Ticketmaster, in my opinion,” Ford said.
But in 2019, the Ford government scrapped a law that would capped ticket resale prices at 50 per cent above the original face value, calling it “unenforceable.”
Speaking at Queen’s Park Wednesday, opposition parties said the PCs should have moved to protect consumers sooner.
Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said the sky-high prices could have been prevented by the government if they hadn’t killed the previous bill.
“The Ford government once again failed everyday people in order to align themselves with corporate interests,” Schreiner said.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles said they again had an opportunity when popstar Taylor Swift was in town last summer – another major event where tickets were scooped up only to be resold at massive markups.
“We asked for this when it came to the Taylor Swift concert,” Stiles said. “We need the government to take action.”
In a statement to CP24, a spokesperson for Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement Stephen Crawford said current laws prevent businesses from engaging in “unfair practices.”
“Ontario’s consumer protection statutes ensure buyers have the information they need to make informed choices. Under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) businesses are not allowed to engage in ‘unfair practices,’ where they are charging a price that grossly exceeds the price at which similar goods or services are readily available to consumers,” the statement read.
“The Ticket Sales Act also requires those who facilitate the resale of a ticket for more than its face value to provide the purchaser with either a written confirmation from the primary seller that the ticket is valid or a money-back guarantee.”
Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Ford’s remarks.
In a statement to CP24, Ticketmaster said, “We appreciate the concern about the high prices to the World Series, but Ticketmaster is not setting these prices, nor is any one person or entity. The resale prices are set by numerous small sellers.”
