Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province is contemplating legislation to cap ticket resale prices as Toronto Blue Jays fans complain of sky-high resale prices that leave many unable to afford World Series tickets.
Game 1 is set for Oct. 24 in Toronto, but many fans are being priced out of attending home games after the rapid sellout of tickets on Oct. 21. Resale tickets swiftly emerged on Ticketmaster’s platform, listed at prices significantly higher than their original value, with totals ranging from just over $1,000 to more than $7,000 each for Game 1. Some tickets for the final home game are priced above $10,000 each.
Ford referenced Ticketmaster during an Oct. 22 press scrum at Queen’s Park, saying that one company is “controlling everything.”
“My personal opinion… they’re gouging the people,” Ford told reporters during an Oct. 22 press scrum at Queen’s Park. “When you have one player in the market that controls the tickets, that’s not right for the people. So we’re actually right now considering legislation.”
Ford did not indicate when such legislation might be introduced and his office did not respond to a request for comment on the timing or specifics of such a bill prior to publication.
Ticketmaster said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times that it understands fans’ concerns about World Series ticket pricing, but added that it is not responsible for setting those prices, “nor is any one person or entity.”
“The resale prices are set by numerous small sellers,” Ticketmaster said in the email, adding that the company does not use surge pricing or algorithms to determine pricing. Surge pricing refers to a tactic employed by businesses to temporarily raise prices for goods or services when there is a surge in demand or a scarcity in supply.
Opposition parties at Queen’s Park said Ford’s government is partly to blame for the ticket pricing issue because it scrapped part of a Liberal law in 2019 that capped ticket resale prices at 50 percent above their original value. The PCs at the time called the law “unenforceable.”
The former Liberal government enacted the legislation in 2017 to combat “scalper bots” that acquire large quantities of tickets. The move came in response to a public outcry from fans who were excluded from the Tragically Hip’s 2016 farewell tour.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the Ford government needs to bring that legislation back, noting that her party called for the province to take action on the issue last year when Taylor Swift concert tickets were being resold for more than $4,000 a piece on sites like StubHub.
“We need the government to take action,” she told reporters outside Queen’s Park.
Liberal tourism, culture and sport critic Rob Cerjanec took to social media to criticize the Ford government for getting rid of the law without putting something else in place to prevent price gouging.
“In 2017, then Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvi passed the law that would have capped ticket sales at 50% above face value,” he wrote in one of his posts on the issue. “A fair, common sense proposal. Fast forward to now, that portion of the law was removed by [the Ford government].”
Ticket Scams
The Toronto Police Service is cautioning Blue Jays fans to be careful when purchasing World Series tickets as scammers seek to capitalize on the heightened interest.
“Major sporting events often attract scammers looking to exploit fan excitement and demand for tickets, merchandise, and accommodations,” the police said in an Oct. 22 advisory.
“Fraudsters may pose as legitimate ticket sellers on social media, classified websites, or fake ticketing platforms, offering tickets that are counterfeit, duplicated, or simply non-existent. Once payment is made, the seller often disappears, leaving fans without tickets and out of money.”
Common types of ticket scams to watch out for include counterfeit websites that seem to be authentic resale platforms or affiliated team partners, social media advertisements or posts promoting last-minute or below-market offers, and fraudulent electronic tickets dispatched post-payment that are either invalid or have already been used, police said.
Scammers may also impersonate legitimate sellers on resale sites or in text/email conversations and could request payment via e-transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift cards, which makes funds difficult to trace.
Police said consumers should look for common red flags such as prices that seem too good to be true, and unverified links shared over social media or email, to avoid being scammed.
Other deceptive practices include sellers exerting pressure to buy quickly because they have “only a few tickets left” and requests for payment outside secure platforms. Police suggest paying for tickets with a credit card, saying it offers more protection and allows customers to dispute fraudulent charges.
It’s also best to avoid sites like Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace and instead buy tickets from the Blue Jays’ official website or authorized ticket partners such as MLB.com or Ticketmaster, police said.
Buyers can also help prevent other consumers from being scammed by avoiding sharing their own ticket images online. Police said fraudsters can use such images to replicate and sell as real tickets.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
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