Ticket scalping law expected next year
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The Dewan Rakyat was informed yesterday that the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry is developing a legal framework to tackle ticket scalping. Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Fuziah Salleh stated that the ministry is collaborating with event organizers and examining laws from other nations to create these regulations. She emphasized that ticket scalping is a significant issue, as it can lead consumers to pay excessively high prices and expose them to scams when purchasing from unofficial sellers.
Currently, there are no specific laws addressing ticket scalping. The ministry is working on this issue by engaging with event organizers and conducting benchmarking studies to establish a legal framework. Section 15(1) of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 provides the minister with the authority to create such regulations.
The ministry is also studying laws in countries like Australia, Canada, Japan, and Singapore, focusing on aspects such as defining ticket scalping, determining its scope, and controlling bulk purchases made through automated bots or individuals. Additionally, the ministry is contemplating requiring tickets to display the buyer's name or identification to prevent resale at inflated prices.
Fuziah noted that applying anti-profiteering rules to ticket scalping is challenging due to the one-off nature of events and the need for three years of sales data for standard investigations. The ministry is also running consumer awareness campaigns and working with event organizers to promote voluntary monitoring of bulk ticket purchases.
As there are no laws in place currently, event organizers must voluntarily take on this responsibility. Fuziah added that they hope regulations will be implemented next year.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
