AusLeisure

With the 2021 State of Origin opening game scheduled for Townsville’s Country Bank Stadium next week, warnings have been issued reminding of the stiff penalties for buying or selling scalped tickets.

Tickets bought on unofficial sites may not be genuine event tickets. The venue’s authorised ticket sellers are the NRL and Ticketmaster.

Queensland Police Minister and Acting Attorney-General Mark Ryan said Queensland laws made ticket scalping an offence and captured events at all Stadiums Queensland venues, including Townsville’s Country Bank Stadium.

Minister Ryan noted “this is a terrific moment in Queensland sports and a terrific moment for Townsville. We don’t want to see genuine fans priced out of the game because some unscrupulous individuals see a chance to make a profit at the expense of others.

“If you see it happening, contact police so they can investigate and fine those responsible.

“And don’t forget that those who buy scalped tickets can be fined too and they won’t be able to use the tickets for the match.”

The legislation recognises that people may genuinely purchase tickets only to find that because of unexpected circumstances they are no longer able to use the tickets. In these instances, tickets can be resold at a margin of no more than 10%.

The 10% margin enables people who are unable to attend an event to recoup the ticket price and any costs associated with the ticket resale.

Sellers of scalped tickets face a maximum fine of 20 penalty units or $2,669.00 while buyers of scalped tickets face a maximum fine of 5 penalty units or $667.25

In the lead up to State of Origin Game 1, authorised tickets will be available via Nrl.com/tickets and Ticketmaster only and will be on-sale from today (Wednesday 2nd June) at 3pm to general public.

Image courtesy tickets.nrl.com/origin

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