NRL grand final 2022: Panthers v Eels decider hijacked by scalping scandal
One of the internet’s biggest online auction sites has become embroiled in the NRL’s Grand Final ticket scalping scandal and fined tens of thousands of dollars.
NRL
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Global e-commerce giant eBay has been caught up in the grand final scalping scandal after being issued with more than $40,000 worth of fines for publishing content in prohibition of the Fair Trading Act.
NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Natasha Mann confirmed her office had swiftly moved to sanction those responsible after News Corp alerted ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys to inflated tickets being offered on eBay in recent days.
Officers from Fair Trading attended eBay’s offices in Sydney and issued 40 infringement notices worth $1,100 each.
“E-Bay was issued with 40 penalty infringement Notices worth $1,100 each for the offence of ‘publishing a prohibited advertisement” in contravention of Fair Trading Act ‘ticket scalping’ regulation.
“Fair Trading’s investigation is ongoing and no further comment can be made at this time, Maximum penalties for breaching ticket scalping laws are $110,000 for a corporation or $22,000 for an individual.
“Fair Trading can also issue a $550 fine for any offence under the laws, including one-off breaches.”
News Corp revealed on Wednesday that the leadup to the grand final had been hijacked by a scalping scandal, prompting V’landys to take up the matter with the NSW government.
Tickets were placed on line for more than $1000 apiece, violating rules introduced by the NSW government in 2018 preventing ticket sales for more than 10 per cent above the original price.
News Corp saw tickets online for more than double their face value.
“To protect consumers, NSW laws require advertisements for the resale tickets to specify the original cost of the ticket and a resale price that is no more than 10 per cent above the original cost,” Mann said.
“Fair Trading attended the offices of eBay in Sydney and issued a number of penalty notices for tickets being advertised contrary to regulations. NSW Fair Trading is actively monitoring other platforms where grand final tickets may be re-sold and will take similar actions where tickets are being sold contrary to NSW laws.
“Earlier this month, I published a public warning about the risks of ticket scalping at major events like the NRL grand final.”
Sunday night’s grand final between Parramatta and Penrith has become the hottest ticket in town as fans of both clubs scramble to find a seat to Accor Stadium.
SCALPERS SANCTIONED FOR NRL GRAND FINAL RORT
NSW Fair Trading has taken swift action against grand final scalpers, issuing a series of sanctions after attending the Sydney offices of eBay.
NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Natasha Mann confirmed they had swiftly moved to sanction those responsible for advertising grand final tickets in breach of NSW ticket scalping laws.
“To protect consumers, NSW laws require advertisements for the resale tickets to specify the original cost of the ticket and a resale price that is no more than 10 per cent above the original cost,” Mann said.
“Fair Trading attended the offices of eBay in Sydney and issued a number of penalty notices for tickets being advertised contrary to regulations.
“NSW Fair Trading is actively monitoring other platforms where grand final tickets may be re-sold and will take similar actions where tickets are being sold contrary to NSW laws.
“Under the Fair Trading Act, corporations found breaching ticket reselling laws can be fined up to $110,000, while individuals can be fined up to $22,000.
“Earlier this month, I published a public warning about the risks of ticket scalping at major events like the NRL grand final.”
News Corp revealed on Wednesday that the leadup to the grand final had been hijacked by a scalping scandal, prompting ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys to take up the matter with the NSW government.
Tickets were placed online for more than $1000 apiece, violating rules introduced by the NSW government in 2018 preventing ticket sales for more than 10 per cent above the original price.
News Corp saw tickets online for more than double their face value.
NRL grand final hijacked by scalping scandal
The lead-up to Sunday night’s NRL grand final has been hijacked by a scalping scandal.
ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys confirmed he would take up the matter with the NSW government after tickets were put online for more than $1000 apiece.
Rules introduced by the NSW government in 2018 prevent ticket sales for more than 10 per cent above the original price.
News Corp has seen tickets online for more than double their face value, which is in strict violation of government rules.
“It’s against the law in NSW to sell a ticket for more than 10% of purchase price,” V’landys said. “These scalpers ripping fans off are exposing themselves to a $22,000 fine. We will bring the matter to the attention of fair trading and do anything we can to protect fans from being ripped off.”
The NSW government introduced laws in June 2018 which prohibited ticket resellers from selling a ticket for profit. It was made an offence to resell a ticket for more than the original retail price, plus transaction costs up to a maximum 10 per cent of the original ticket price.
Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello slammed the scalping of tickets.
“Scalping is not only illegal, it’s predatory, and it’s not a level playing field,” he said. “If you want to play that game, expect the authorities to come after you, as they should.”
Maximum penalties for breaching scalping laws are $11,000 for an individual, and $22,000 for an organisation. A host of sham social media accounts offering tickets at “below face value” have also tried to dupe desperate fans.
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The accounts are asking people to privately message them on social media before telling them to deposit money into their bank account for tickets.
Demand for tickets for this year’s grand has been unprecedented given the two clubs involved — Parramatta and Penrith — are among the most popular in the game.
A stadium official described interest in the game as bigger than Origin or any other recent grand finals. Such is the demand, Parramatta are selling tickets to CommBank Stadium for a Sunday night live site, with 4000 of an expected 12,000 tickets sold so far.
The Eels are attempting to win their first premiership in 36 years behind the brilliance of halfback Mitchell Moses and five-eighth Dylan Brown. Standing in their way will be the defending premiers, who boast arguably the game’s best player in Nathan Cleary.
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