AFL footy finals scalpers slapped with fines

Scalpers trying to exploit desperate Richmond fans have been slapped with almost $19,000 in fines for trying to sell illegal grand final tickets, part of an unprecedented Victorian scalping crackdown.

Scalpers trying to rip off footy fans during this season’s finals were hit with 23 infringement notices and almost $19,000 in fines.

Among them were 11 fines of $826 each issued to people caught illegally selling seats to last Saturday’s Grand Final.

A further 76 online listings for tickets to the Richmond v Greater Western Sydney premiership decider were ordered to be removed because they breached state laws banning the sale of finals seats for a price that exceeded face value by more than 10 per cent.

In total, 159 illegal ­finals ticket listings were removed from secondary sites, including 37 for MCG preliminary finals featuring the Tigers, Collingwood and Geelong.

Dustin Martin and Liam Baker celebrate with the crowd. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Sports Minister Martin ­Pakula said the state government had conducted an ­unprecedented crackdown on scalpers to protect fans.

“We’ve issued 23 scalping fines during the AFL finals ­series to people who were doing the wrong thing by trying to profit from the passion of footy fans,’’ he said.

Victorian anti-scalper authorities busted one person ­trying to sell two Grand Final tickets with a face value of $844 for $4000 on eBay and a single seat worth $185 for $1234 on Gumtree.

Other ­illegal deals shut down included two Grand Final seats worth $705 being advertised for $3500 on Facebook and a $185 ticket for sale on Gumtree for $800.

Forty illegal tickets to ­Collingwood’s qualifying final win against Geelong were withdrawn from sale and six people were slapped with ­infringement notices.

Mr Pakula said the fines and penalties sent a strong message to scalpers.

A fan searches for tickets during the 2019 grand final. Picture: Getty Images

Dustin Martin during the Grand Final. Picture: Getty Images

“Our anti-scalping regime is working — it’s deterring many people who might seek to sell tickets at an inflated price,’’ he said.

“And where people are not deterred, authorised officers monitor websites and, in hundreds of cases, they have forced illegal ads to be taken down.”

Tickets for “declared” Victorian events are subject to the state law preventing their sale for a price no more than 10 per cent above face value.

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Declared events include all Victorian AFL finals, the Anzac Day match between Collingwood and Essendon, the Boxing Day Test, the Australian Open, the Meredith Music Festival and the theatre show Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

People have been urged to only buy tickets through ­official event sites and avoid secondary resellers..

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