Memorandum submitted by the Racecourse
Association Limited
I am writing on behalf of the Racecourse Association
Ltd (RCA), the trade association for 59 racecourses throughout
Great Britain, in response to your inquiry into the touting of
tickets for sporting and cultural events. The RCA membership includes
venues for numerous major events including The Derby at Epsom
Downs Racecourse and the Grand National at Aintree Racecourse,
both of which are listed events.
We would like to note that in addition to the
issue of ticket touting, which we address below, there is also
much concern regarding the sale of forged tickets, which should
be further investigated.
The RCA is pleased to be involved in this inquiry
on behalf of our members. Please find below responses to the issues
which you raised
1. THE UNDERLYING
CAUSES OF
TICKET TOUTING,
AND ITS
IMPACT ON
PERFORMERS, PROMOTERS
AND THE
PUBLIC
1.1 The RCA is of the view that there are
a number of causes of ticket touting, and a number of methods
via which touts are able to obtain tickets for onward sale. Many
racecourses offer group discounts to their customers, and touts
can take advantage of this in order to obtain tickets for resale
below face value, whilst still making a profit. The price can
then be further increased at sell-out events.
1.2 In addition, racecourses give complimentary
tickets to sponsors, racehorse owners, racehorse trainers, stable
staff and many others. These tickets are sometimes sold or passed
on to touts for resale.
1.3 The RCA is of the view that ticket touting
can have many negative consequences on both racecourses and their
customers, with whom the racecourses value a good relationship,
which can be tarnished by the activities of ticket touts.
1.4 The most readily identifiable problem
is that touts hound and/or intimidate racecourse customers outside
the turnstiles (although sometimes on racecourse property) in
an effort to make a sale. This is not the image which racecourses
are trying to convey as a first impression, and can create health
and safety difficulties, particularly in car park areas where
they disrupt the work of car park attendants.
1.5 The RCA has been informed by our members
of incidents where members of racecourse staff have been the victims
of verbal abuse, and threatened with physical harm by ticket touts
when attempting to encourage them to desist in their activities
for the benefit of the racecourse customers.
1.6 Ticket touts may often sell incorrect
or incomplete products, leading to difficulties for the customers
when trying to gain entry to the course. They may also falsely
state what the holder of ticket would be entitled to.
1.7 In addition, touts may sell tickets
which have been obtained from the racecourse fraudulently, eg
via cloned credit cards, or forged tickets and this may cause
embarrassment to the customer in possession of the ticket when
it is presented.
1.8 It is not uncommon for ticket touts
to provide tickets to customers who do not comply with the dress
code for certain enclosures, which can cause conflict between
the racecourse staff and customers when they are prohibited from
accessing certain areas.
1.9 Finally, as well as selling tickets
for sold-out events, tickets touts may also sell tickets for less
busy days, at less than face value, thereby depriving the racecourse
of additional revenue which could have been gained through last
minute ticket sales.
2. WHETHER OR
NOT RESALE
OF A
TICKET, AT
FACE VALUE
OR AT
A HIGHER
VALUE, SHOULD
BE PERMITTED
IN PRINCIPLE;
AND WHETHER
THE ACCEPTABILITY
OR OTHERWISE
OF RESALE
DEPENDS ON
THE CIRCUMSTANCES
IN WHICH
TICKETS ARE
OFFERED FOR
RESALE
2.1 The RCA is of the view that the resale
of tickets, at any value, should only be permitted with the express
permission of the relevant racecourse in order to guarantee the
product description and integrity of the event.
3. THE IMPACT
OF THE
INTERNET UPON
TRADE IN
TICKETS
3.1 The RCA feels that the facility to trade
tickets via the internet, particularly through websites like "e-Bay"
creates the opportunity for ticket touts to sell tickets without
providing full or correct details to the customer. In these instances
there is no recourse for the customer in the event of an unsuitable
transaction.
3.2 It has also been brought to our attention
that a number of internet trading sites such as "MyTicketMarket.com"
operate from addresses outside Great Britain, and are therefore
subject to different legislation, which can cause difficulty for
racecourses or government organisations in taking action against
them.
4. WHETHER OR
NOT TICKETS'
TERMS AND
CONDITIONS BANNING
TRANSFER AND
ONWARD SALE
ARE FAIR
OR ENFORCEABLE
4.1 We do believe that racecourses and the
Department of Trade and Industry should work closely together
to clarify guidelines regarding ticket touting in order to assist
with achievable enforcement. It is the view of the RCA and our
members that the resale of tickets should only be permitted with
the express written permission of the relevant racecourse, and
this should be at their discretion.
5. THE MERITS
OF NEW
APPROACHES BY
TICKET AGENTS
ATTEMPTING TO
PREVENT TRANSFER
OF TICKETS,
INCLUDING WIDER
USE OF
PERSONAL ID
5.1 As an initial view, the RCA and believes
that to require the use of personal identification in order to
make use of tickets would not be practical, enforceable or cost
effective for many of our members. To employ this facility would
incur a large amount of work and expense for the racecourse, and
would not be appropriate for admission tickets for horseracing,
where the crowd in transitory rather than occupying reserved seats
in a stadium as at football and other sporting events.
5.2 However, we would be interested in receiving
further information on this proposal, should it be progressed,
as it may be of interest to some larger racecourses.
6. WHETHER OR
NOT THE
EXISTING OFFENCES
OF SALE
BY AN
UNAUTHORISED PERSON
IN A
PUBLIC PLACE
OF A
TICKET FOR
A DESIGNATED
FOOTBALL MATCH,
OR FOR
EVENTS AT
THE LONDON
2012 GAMES, SHOULD
BE EXTENDED
TO COVER
OTHER SPORTING
OR CULTURAL
EVENTS
6.1 The RCA holds the view that the existing
offences of sale by an unauthorised person should be extended
to cover all sporting events, and that the sale of tickets by
a third party should only be permitted if expressly authorised
in writing by the event organiser.
6.2 As an alternative to this, it has been
proposed that racecourses, and other sports venues as necessary,
explore the desirability of designation under Section 166 of the
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act.
6.3 In the event that either of these options
is introduced, it would be essential to ensure that the regulations
include for the arrest of anyone found to be touting tickets.
June 2007
| 
