Smart tickets the new weapon in Australia’s war on scalpers

New scalper-proof ticket technology could be the key to busting fraudsters hawking overpriced fake tickets to concerts and the footy — and it’s set to make stadium entry a lot easier. This is how it will work.

Scalper-proof ticket technology that makes it virtually impossible for fraudsters to prey on sports and music fans will be introduced in Australia next year.

AFL fans will be among the first in the southern hemisphere to use state-of-the art digital tickets in a move expected to revolutionise the way supporters enter stadiums.

Ticketmaster — one of the AFL’s official partners — will allow fans to tap into grounds with their phone or watch and register their identification as they pass through turnstiles.

It will also introduce “Safetix” technology that refreshes the barcode on tickets every 15 seconds, stopping scalpers from selling the same seat multiple times.

The technology is expected to be rolled out to AFL fans next season, with Marvel Stadium and Perth Stadium the first to trial it.

Ticketmaster chief product officer Justin Burleigh told the Herald Sun the technology would “take ticketing into the digital era”.

Footy fans could soon be able to tap into grounds with their phone or watch.

“Scalpers typically will sell you a fraudulent paper ticket but it’s very hard for them to do that with a digital ticket,’’ he said.

Safetix — which supplies tickets with an encrypted barcode or a “contactless’’ tap-and-enter pass stored in your phone or Apple Watch — will be used in 28 of 32 NFL stadiums in the US this season.

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Mr Burleigh said Safetix would be in Australia by early next year and expected it to be quickly adopted at AFL stadiums. “We’ve designed this thing out of the gate to scale to the largest venues in the ecosystem and the AFL certainly falls into that category,’’ he said.

Fans will still be able to transfer tickets to friends using the new technology, but once the digital pass changes hands the old stub will be invalidated.

It is expected fans will be able to continue using paper tickets while getting used to the new technology.