KUALA LUMPUR: Live performance organisers Livescape Group and LOL Asia support the government’s proposal to craft a law to address ticket scalping.
Livescape Group chief executive officer and founder Muhammad Iqbal Ameer Ali, however, said implementing such a law would be a long and complex journey.
He cautioned that the law was at risk of being symbolic rather than transformative if it failed to tackle intricate enforcement issues.
“How will authorities monitor resale platforms, track bot-driven purchases, or penalise scalpers operating across borders?
“Without clear strategies for enforcement, including dedicated resources and cross-agency collaboration, the law risks becoming symbolic rather than transformative,” he said.
He added that the key challenge in preventing scalping is rooted in the event organisers’ reliance on ticketing companies.
“Event organisers depend on these platforms to handle sales swiftly and fulfil cashflow needs for staging concerts, which means ticketing providers must invest in advanced technology to prevent scalping at the source,” he said.
Iqbal suggested utilising an audience authentication mechanism via blockchain technology to curb the issue.
“By verifying buyer identities we can curb bots from bulk-buying tickets in the first place, ensuring fair distribution to genuine fans.
“These technologies already exist and are being piloted in various markets, providing transparent, tamper-proof ways to safeguard the ticketing process without adding undue friction,” he said.
Additionally, Association of Live Event Organisers (Alife) adviser and co-founder Rizal Kamal said that scalping was nearly impossible for organisers to control as he voiced his support for a strong law.
“It starts the second tickets go on sale. Sophisticated bots can buy hundreds of tickets in seconds, crash systems, and lock out real fans.
“We already put in security measures, but the use of technology by scalpers is evolving faster.
“A strong law would give us the back up we need to protect fans and keep prices fair,” Rizal, who is also the chief executive of LOL Asia, told the New Straits Times.
Earlier today, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said the Communications Ministry will hold discussions with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry to address the growing problem of concert ticket scalping.
This, she said, would include the possibility of introducing an anti-scalping law.
This comes after heightened complaints over tickets being resold at up to five times their original price, especially for international acts performing in Malaysia.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
