Ticket platform slammed with hefty fine for violating Ontario resale rules

Ticket-selling platform SeatGeek Canada has been slapped with a $25,000 fine for violating Ontario's ticket resale legislation.

The province announced on Wednesday that SeatGeek Canada had been issued an "administrative penalty of $25,000 for failing to comply with requirements under the Ticket Sales Act, 2017, including clear requirements prohibiting the resale of event tickets above their original total purchase price."

The Act bans the resale of live event tickets in Ontario for more than their original cost and applies to any individual or platform that resells above the established price cap.

According to a press release, SeatGeek was issued three separate fines for a trio of alleged violations of the Ticket Sales Act, and was given a 15-day period to appeal the penalty to the Licence Appeal Tribunal. That appeal window recently expired, and SeatGeek Canada has another 15-day window to pay the fine.

The fines include:

• $10,000 "for failing to ensure that tickets offered for sale on the secondary market did not exceed the total price originally paid to the primary seller."
• $10,000 "for failing to disclose the original total purchase price of tickets offered for resale."
• $5,000 "for facilitating the resale of tickets without obtaining proof of the total price originally paid to the primary seller."

The province states that the penalty is the product of new financial enforcement measures it introduced in its latest budget, which pledged "to crack down on illegal ticket resales, protect consumers and families, and keep tickets affordable for fans and families."

Penalties for ticket resellers can quickly stack up, and the province warns that businesses can face fines of up to $250,000 if convicted of an offence in court.

Fines of up to $50,000 can also target individuals within offending companies, including executives, along with potential imprisonment with sentences up to two years.