Toronto furious after Elton John concerts sell out in seconds
It looks like Ontario's new, anti-ticket bot legislation is doing little to stop marquee events from selling out online within seconds – but only because nothing is actually being enforced.
Sorry, Elton John fans.
Tickets for Elton John in Toronto went on sale at 10am. Checking both September dates at 10:02 .. all sold out. It's a mystery.
— T. Alex Beamish (@talexb) February 2, 2018
Thousands of people were surprised and disappointed earlier this month to learn that tickets to both Toronto stops of the British superstar's last-ever tour were unavailable through Ticketmaster only moments after they'd gone on sale.
Hey @Ticketmaster why even bother opening @eltonofficial tickets to the public when it's 0:01 after they went on sale and there are ZERO tickets available? #Ticketmaster #eltonjohn #Toronto
— Dayna Gorecki (@daynagorecki) February 2, 2018
Some fans had been hopeful that, in light of the provincial government's December motion to pass a bill banning online ticket scalpers, scoring seats might be a bit easier than it has been in years past.
They were wrong.
@PatForanCTVNews I tried to get Elton John tickets in Toronto from Ticket Master but they were sold out at 10:01.....unbelievable! They are already on other resale website. Are there really no protection on ordinary consumers?
— chloe (@chloe_chan21) February 2, 2018
Attorney General Ministry spokesman Emilie Smith told The Toronto Sun yesterday that, while the ticket-related consumer protection bill has been passed, it has not yet come into effect.
First, she said, the government needs to work with police and other enforcement officials on strategies to counter the illegal bots, as well as lay out administrative penalties for those who violate the law.
looking for two tickets to elton john toronto. willing to give a kidney and part of my lung. thnks.
— MΛGDΛ (@magdafying) February 2, 2018
The province hasn't yet revealed when its Ticket Sales Act will come into force, but its worth noting that it took the U.S. almost two years to turn its anti-bot bill into law after it was introduced in 2015.
When it is enforced, the law is meant to "help prevent ticket fraud and excessive markups in the resale ticket market."
It’s pretty much $300+ to see Elton John sitting in the nosebleeds. How do people afford that????!!!!!?!?!?
— Mikey desev (@babeDeSev41) February 12, 2018
This, according to the government, includes banning ticket bots, capping the resale price of tickets at 50 per cent above face value and "requiring businesses selling or reselling tickets to disclose key information to consumers."
— Dina Anker (@dinapea) February 2, 2018
At last check, tickets to John's Wednesday evening show in Toronto were going for between $203 and $5,999 on StubHub.
