AusLeisure

The popularity of the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC 305) event at Perth’s RAC Arena on 18th August has led the Western Australian Government to issue a warning over ticket resales by scalpers.

Following ticket pre-sales on Wednesday morning, other tickets for the UFC bout went on sale to the general public as of midday today and were sold out by 3pm.

While not selling out as rapidly as tickets for UFC 284, the price of the cheapest tickets for more than $220 represents a more than 90% jump in base ticket prices since last year.

Aware that ticket resales are likely to commence immediately, the Western Australian Government has issued a warning to UFC fans over ticket scalping for the event, highlighting that 16 people were fined for breaking the state’s ticket scalping laws over last November’s Coldplay concerts at Optus Stadium.

With Western Australia’s anti-scalping legislation preventing resale for more than 10% over the original ticket price, mark-ups in these 16 cases ranged from 53 to 507%. In one case, a Queensland woman advertised four package tickets with an original sale price of $1,861 for $4,100 on a classified advertising website.

Advising the Western Australian Government will take a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach towards ticket scalpers, Western Australian Commerce Minister, Sue Ellery stated “let this be a lesson for anyone thinking about reselling tickets to popular events at illegally inflated prices - it will catch up with you.

“The 16 infringement notices from the Coldplay events show how seriously we continue to take breaches of WA’s ticket scalping laws, with $2,000 infringements able to be issued, or even higher penalties awaiting those who are taken to court.

“With popular sporting events, like the UFC 305 event, becoming increasingly common on the WA calendar, it’s timely to remind the public about the hazards of buying tickets through unauthorised sources. Not only do they risk paying far more than the tickets are worth, but they could also be turned away at the gate if the tickets are invalid or fake.”

Minister Ellery urged fans to only buy tickets through the authorised ticket seller, Ticketek, or its official resale site Ticketek Marketplace, to avoid paying too much or being denied entry. Tickets are now on sale and are expected to sell-out quickly.

Courts may impose penalties of up to $20,000 for individuals found to have breached ticket scalping legislation, while even higher penalties of $100,000 can apply to those illegally using 'bots' to purchase bulk tickets.

Click here for more information on Western Australia’s Consumer Protection website.

Image: UFC action at Perth's RAC Arena. Credit: VenuesWest.

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