The Macau SAR Government said Wednesday it would consider introducing mandatory “real name” ticketing in an effort to combat the growing issue of scalpers selling tickets to local concerts.
Since the reopening of Macau’s international borders on 8 January 2023, concessionaires have increasingly focused on attracting customers through concerts, which has given rise to a new direction of development in the “concert economy”. However, the increase in the number of concerts has led to new problems such as scalper ticket sales and ticket fraud.
In November 2023, Macau’s Judiciary Police issued a circular stating that it had received at least 22 complaints of fraudulent online concert ticket purchases in the space of a week, of which 15 victims were students.
Responding to a recent question from Legislative Assembly member Lam Lon Wai, the Macau Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) said in a Wednesday statement that the government was actively exploring measures to combat such activity, including the use of real-name ticketing.
“The Public Security Police Bureau maintains close contact with hotels at concert venues through the Hotel Industry Network to understand the situation of ticket sales for concerts, and cooperates with the security departments of the hotels so that police will immediately deploy officers to deal with the situation of ticket touting within the hotel premises if such touting is detected,” it said.
“[As for] curbing scalping, a multi-pronged approach is required. Apart from criminal means, we can also improve the ticketing methods and rules, such as introducing a system of real-name ticketing, or increasing the ratio and transparency of external ticketing to curb speculation and reduce the risk of fraudulent crimes.”
Real-name ticketing has become popular in other jurisdictions in recent times, with Taiwan having amended its laws last May to impose fines of 10 to 50 times the original ticket price a ticket is resold at a high price. The Taiwan government also encourages concert organizers to implement a name-based ticketing system.
Last year, Macau’s Cultural Affairs Bureau invited Japanese composer and performer Joe Hisaishi to perform. When it became clear that tickets were being scalped, the Bureau implemented a requirement that ticket holders could only enter the venue by providing and confirming their real names.
Under Macau’s current law, ticket scalping is illegal and constitutes the crime of “illicit price”, which is punishable by up to three years in prison. However, this law was enacted in 1996, and because most scalped tickets have become electronic, it has become difficult for law enforcement agencies to prosecute.
The DSEDT said the Macau government would review the relevant laws in light of recent developments.
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