Quebec wants to stop high prices from ticket sellers. It won't be easy

Pat Coveney is a lifelong hockey fan, specifically a fan of the new PWHL team in Montreal.

“They are playing great. I haven't missed a game on TV,” the 67-year-old retiree told CBC in a recent interview.

Coveney wants to see the game in person, especially since he lives in Verdun, just steps away from the arena where the Montreal team plays some of its games.

For now, this is a test. Coveney tried to buy tickets online, but they sell out quickly. He even drove up to the arena to see if he could get tickets in person, but no luck.

Coveney thought the upcoming game could be his chance for the team, which will be at the Bell Center on Saturday. But those tickets sold in minuteswill only appear on resale sites at higher prices that day.

“Tickets have skyrocketed. $500 to $1,000 a ticket,” Coveney said.

Increasingly in Quebec, fans like Coveney feel undervalued for live events. The CAQ government has promised to tackle the complex problem, even as other provinces have tried and largely failed.

High ticket prices are the new norm

A Bell Center PWHL game is just one example of recent, significant price increases for resold tickets.

In March, music fans in Quebec City were outraged by the price of a popular ticket Quebec Festival was raised on resale sites a few hours after going on sale.

In February, tickets for the CF Montreal soccer game featuring superstar Lionel Messi against Inter Miami sold for even more. 10,000 dollars per copy on some resale sites.

In December last year, what the CAQ government described as “the straw that broke the camel's back” was the death of Carl Tremblay, lead singer of the hugely popular band Les Cowboys Fringants.

Free tickets to the Tremblay Memorial at the Bell Center have been posted for as much on sales sites. $500 hours after they were distributed.

This prompted the CAQ government to mandate MNA Kariane Bourassa to investigate the issue of rising ticket resale prices and propose solutions.

Bourassa declined to comment for this story, saying he was still meeting with various groups to discuss the matter.

The process of buying tickets is increasingly confusing

Quebec first passed a ticket resale law in 2012.

“Basically, the law says that the seller is not allowed to resell the ticket at a price higher than the first published price without the consent of the manufacturer,” Sylvie De Belfel, a lawyer for Option Consommateurs, told the CBC. .

However, individuals can resell the ticket at any price they choose.

This includes ticket resale sites like Billets.ca or Stubhub. They act as intermediaries between individual buyers and sellers — like Airbnb, but for tickets. (Also available in Quebec struggled to introduce effective regulations for that platform.)

The sites themselves charge a commission, but since they aren't directly reselling tickets, they aren't technically breaking any laws.

The law also prohibits brokers from using online software (bots) to buy large ticket packages when there is a limit on the number an individual can buy. Despite this prohibition, bots have become increasingly sophisticated and still a big problem in the resale market.

Further complicating matters, Ticketmaster, the world's largest player in ticket sales, has built its own resale platform and also acts as a broker. And Ticketmaster is in hot water after a while A CBC investigation The company has revealed that it is working with other intermediaries to raise ticket prices further. As a result, several court casessome of them are ongoing.

Another wrinkle: Concert and sporting event promoters now often introduce different tiers exclusive pre-sales for select fans who receive access codes before tickets go on general sale. It is often unclear how many tickets may still be available to buyers.

“It creates a buzz, so people may be willing to pay a higher price if they think the number of tickets is limited,” De Belfel said.

All of this creates a very confusing landscape for the consumer.

Class action lawsuit

Some of these issues are in class action litigation. Option Consommateurs seeks approval against Quebec ticket broker Billets.ca.

Nathalie Gravel, the lead plaintiff in the case, bought tickets on the site to see Quebec comedian Dominique Paquette's show in September 2022.

Gravel didn't know it was a resale site.

“He didn't know because it really looked like a real site like Ticketmaster. He thought he was buying the tickets from the right place,” Marie-Anais Sauvet, the lawyer leading the class action, told the CBC.

It wasn't until Gravel attended the show three months later that he realized he'd bought resold tickets and paid nearly double the face value.

The class action alleges that Billets.ca violated the law by not disclosing that the tickets were being resold, not displaying the original price, and not obtaining the manufacturer's agreement to charge more than face value.

The court also found Billets.ca to be more than just an intermediary between buyers and sellers.

“They think they're not merchants. If they're not merchants, the Consumer Protection Act doesn't apply to them. We strongly oppose that,” Sauve said.

“They are an enterprise that is making money from this business,” he said.

The lawsuit seeks the difference between the face value of Gravel's ticket and the amount he paid, as well as punitive damages.

Sauve encourages others with similar experiences to join the class action.

“We think there are thousands of people who bought tickets this way, and we think it's going to be a big deal,” Sauve said.

The lawsuit has not yet been approved, and none of the allegations have been tested in court.

Billets.ca declined to comment.

Other provinces have tried and failed

Other provinces tried to find a solution to high ticket resale prices and then had to back down.

Manitoba has long banned the resale of tickets at inflated prices, but the province removed the ban In 2023, it did nothing to stop out-of-province resale.

Option Consommateurs' De Bellefeuille said it would be a challenge for Quebec as it tries to come up with new rules.

“Sometimes the platforms are in other countries. How do you manage that? How does that relate to a company based in China or the United States?” he said.

Ontario has tried to cap the amount a ticket can be resold at 50 percent above its original face value, as well went backconclude that the rule cannot be enforced.

De Bellefeuille agreed that this approach would not work.

“How much does a ticket cost? It's hard to say if someone wants to buy something back from another person, whether it should be a hat or not,” he says.

“If you're willing to pay three times what I paid because it's a show you really want to be in, that's a person-to-person situation,” De Belfel said.

“But when it comes to websites and sellers, we think it should be made clear in the law that they have responsibility,” he said.

Late last year, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced new legislation called the Fan Act to protect consumers from high ticket prices. But the law mostly includes familiar measures adopted in various parts of Canada: transparency, bot bans, tougher penalties.

Justice versus profit

De Bellefeuille says the lack of an easy solution doesn't mean governments shouldn't try.

According to him, this issue is really an issue of justice.

“I think if the show is really, really popular and people are willing to pay a premium, that's one thing,” De Belfel said.

“But to create a situation where people have to pay a higher price for a regular show because all the tickets are bought or sold very quickly, there's something wrong with that,” he said.

Pat Coveney, a PWHL fan, despaired.

“I don't know if I can watch the game. It's very expensive. And I want to go, believe me,” he said.

“Robots, or whatever you call them, bots, they're buying blocks of tickets and scalpers are selling them and they're marking it up. If it's not Ticketmaster, it's scalpers,” Coveney said.

“They value themselves more than the average guy or woman who gets a ticket,” he said.

“It's all about money, that's the problem,” he said.