Buyer beware: AFL Event Office hacked; Scalpers feast on grand final tickets

The AFL Event Office has cancelled the barcodes of a range of corporate hospitality tickets just days out from the grand final after its portal was hacked.

The event office handles corporate tickets – the smallest allocation for the grand final at the MCG on Saturday. Those involving Before the Bounce, Crown Grand Final Breakfast, Grand Final Plus Pass, Hassett Room, Ultimate Nobu, and Ultimate Suite packages have been impacted.

The Sydney Swans knocked off Port Adelaide Power last Friday to land a spot in the 2024 AFL grand final. Credit: Getty Images

It is unclear how many of the tickets were accessed legitimately, with all cancelled barcodes to be re-issued later in the week.

“[The] AFL Event Office has identified that some corporate ticketing across a number of experiences was illegally downloaded, and the AFL Integrity Unit is now in contact with Victoria Police regarding the matter,” the AFL said in a statement on Tuesday night.

The AFL said the relevant ticket holders have been told to delete their tickets as their barcodes would no longer work for Saturday’s sold-out grand final.

Club members, AFL members, MCC members, Medallion Club members, corporate suite holders, September Club members, and club and AFL stakeholders were not affected.

“Fans are always strongly advised to not purchase tickets from anyone but Ticketek, the AFL Event Office or an authorised hospitality agent,” the AFL said.

The breach comes as scalpers are attempting to flout the law by selling grand final tickets at inflated prices, often directing potential buyers to message them privately to negotiate prices.

Under Victorian law, it is illegal to resell tickets (or advertise them for resale) for more than 10 per cent above their face value.

Long-time Sydney supporter Renato Gaylican posted on social media seeking two tickets to the grand final, only to encounter sellers asking up to $800 per ticket in seating categories originally capped at $185 by the AFL – an increase of more than 300 per cent.

By 2.30pm on Tuesday, the state government had removed 41 tickets and 46 packages for the grand final in breach of the Major Events Act 2009.

A total of 343 tickets have been removed during this year’s finals series.

Two penalty infringements have been issued – involving the Western Bulldogs v Hawthorn elimination final – with investigations for other possible breaches ongoing.

The Major Event Act 2009 specifically aims to combat ticket scalping for declared major events, including the AFL finals and the grand final, requiring resellers to disclose essential details – such as seat numbers, ticket face value and the intended sale price – in their listing.

“I’m fully aware there are a lot of scalpers around. When I posted, I knew there was going to be a couple of scammers messaging,” Gaylican said.

“When we go down to Melbourne, we’ll probably go outside the MCG and if there is a Good Samaritan out there who just had more tickets than necessary, then I’d probably try my luck there.”

Swans diehard Renato Gaylican

Gaylican and his 85-year-old father took the risk early in the Swans’ finals campaign by booking flights to Melbourne in the hopes their team make it to the premiership decider. Their wishes came to fruition on Friday, but securing tickets has proven challenging.

Gaylican said that friends who are Swans members were unsuccessful in securing tickets for him through the official ballot, prompting him to search for resale tickets online.

He said he is willing to pay anywhere between $1000 to $2000 to get through the gates of the MCG.

The chance to see the Swans play this Saturday is a long time in the making for Gaylican’s father, who migrated to Australia when South Melbourne relocated to Sydney to form the Sydney Swans in 1982. He and Renato’s late mother had just found a new home – like the footy team – and it was that shared experience that birthed their love for the Swans.

“Me and my dad are still willing to travel down to Melbourne anyway to be part of the festivities – whether we can get a ticket or not,” Gaylican said.

“In the end, finding the tickets is like finding a needle in a haystack. When we go down to Melbourne, we’ll probably go outside the MCG and if there is a Good Samaritan out there who just had more tickets than necessary, then I’d probably try my luck there. If not, that’s all right.”

A Victorian government spokesperson said events such as the AFL finals series and AFL grand final are protected to ensure that fans pay fair prices for tickets.

“Our message to ticket scalpers is clear – don’t sell tickets to major events at inflated prices, otherwise you risk being fined,” the spokesperson said.

“While public education and active monitoring and intervention are the first steps to ensuring the public are aware of our strict ticket-scalping laws, we will not shy from issuing fines where people refuse to do the right thing.”

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