Ontario Just Capped Ticket Resale Prices. Did Fans Win, or Did Ticketmaster?
On April 23, thousands of Ticketmaster users in Ontario got an unexpected email. Their resale listings had been taken down from the platform. This wasn’t a glitch. It happened because of a new law.
Bill 97 took effect that day, making it illegal to resell any concert, sports, or cultural event ticket in Ontario for more than its original price, including service fees and taxes. Fans had been asking why a $150 ticket could be resold for $500 right after it was bought.
Events like last year’s World Series and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour have highlighted how much resale prices have gone up. In 2019, the Ford government got rid of an anti-scalping law, but now they’ve brought in new rules to address the problem.
To most fans, this news seems like a victory. But some people aren’t happy about it.
Some experts think the law might help Ticketmaster more than fans. With resale limited, Ticketmaster could raise original prices and keep control of the main market. “This isn’t actually promoting more competition — it’s promoting more market share for Ticketmaster,” said Jay Goldberg of the Consumer Choice Center.
The law also makes resellers show proof of a ticket’s original price before listing it, requires both prices to be shown to buyers, and tells platforms to keep records for at least three years after an event. On paper, it’s the toughest resale rule in Canada. In reality, no one knows yet how it will be enforced, especially with platforms based outside Ontario.
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The resale price cap is part of Bill 97, a larger budget bill that also changes Ontario’s Freedom of Information law. Now, Premier Ford, his cabinet, and their staff are exempt from public records requests. The ticket resale rule was introduced at the same time as this change to government transparency.
It’s still not clear if Ticketmaster or fans will benefit more from this law. What is clear is that the live music ticketing system has had problems for decades, and one provincial law probably won’t fix everything. Only time will show what this means for Ontario’s fans and the industry.
Will this actually lower prices, or will Ticketmaster find a way around it?
