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LCQ14: Combating ticket scalping activities
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     Following is a question by the Hon Ma Fung-kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, in the Legislative Council today (March 21):
 
Question:
 
     Section 6 of the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance (Cap 172) provides that any person who sells or offers any ticket authorising admission to any place of public entertainment licensed under the Ordinance at a price exceeding the amount fixed by the proprietor or manager of such place or by the organiser of the activity held therein (commonly known as "scalped tickets"), or exhibits or has in his possession for sale, or solicits the purchase of such tickets (commonly known as "ticket scalping"), shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of $2,000.  It has been reported that the tickets of a concert scheduled to be held in May this year at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre ("HKCC") were sold out in just 10 minutes after the starting time of the open sale of the tickets on February 1 this year.  Immediately afterwards, someone put up the tickets of the concert for sale on the Internet, fetching over $12,000 for a ticket with an original price of $1,080.  However, according to section 2 of the Places of Public Entertainment (Exemption) Order (Cap 172D), places managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") (including HKCC) are not licensed places of public entertainment.  As such, the aforesaid ticket scalping activities are not subject to regulation by section 6 of Cap 172.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the measures taken in the past three years by the Police and other relevant government departments to combat ticket scalping activities;
 
(2) of the number of reports about ticket scalping activities received by the Police in each of the past three years; among such reports, the respective numbers of cases in which the persons concerned were prosecuted and convicted, as well as the penalties imposed on the convicted persons in general;
 
(3) whether it will consider raising the penalty for the offence of ticket scalping in order to enhance the deterrent effect; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(4) whether it will consider amending the relevant legislation to bring places managed by LCSD within the scope of regulation in order to combat ticket scalping activities more effectively; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(5) given that in 2004, the Police arrested 10 persons suspected to have engaged in ticket scalping for the alleged offence of "access to computer with criminal or dishonest intent" under section 161 of the Crimes Ordinance (Cap 200), whether the Police invoked the aforesaid provision in the past three years to institute prosecution against persons who had allegedly engaged in ticket scalping activities; if so, of the number of convictions and the penalties imposed on the convicted persons in general; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(6) whether LCSD will assist activity organisers in selling tickets by way of real name registration in order to curb ticket scalping activities; if so, of the details of the assistance to be provided; whether LCSD will consider upgrading the Urban Ticketing System to add the function of selling tickets by way of real name registration; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Upon consultation with the Security Bureau, our consolidated reply to the various parts of the question is set out below.
 
     In respect of any place of public entertainment licensed under the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance (Cap 172), any person who sells, or offers or exhibits or has in his possession for sale, or solicits the purchase of, any ticket or voucher at a price exceeding the amount fixed for such a ticket or voucher shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of $2,000. 
 
     The Police have been paying close attention to illegal ticket scalping activities. The Police will follow up when they become aware of the situation or receive relevant reports. Depending on the circumstances of individual cases, the Police will take enforcement actions, including "sting operations", as appropriate to combat illegal ticket scalping activities. The Police do not maintain the information requested in parts (2) and (5) of the question.
 
     Pursuant to the Places of Public Entertainment (Exemption) Order (Cap 172D), venues under the management of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) are not required to obtain the Places of Public Entertainment Licences. Such venues are managed by the LCSD in accordance with the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap 132) and its subsidiary legislation.
 
     To curb ticket scalping activities, when handling ticketing arrangements for popular events through URBTIX, the LCSD will discuss with the event organisers and set a maximum number of tickets, ranging from 2 to 10, that each patron can buy per transaction on the first day of public sale. They will also impose a limit on the number of tickets that can be purchased online by the same credit card. These measures will enable more people to have the opportunity to purchase tickets on the first day of public sale. When tickets of large-scale events go on sale, sufficient manpower will be deployed in advance for crowd control at URBTIX outlets and queuing arrangements will also be devised as appropriate. During such events, additional venue and security staff will also be deployed to patrol the venue area. Anyone found engaging in resale of tickets purchased and related activities within the venue area will be advised by the venue staff to cease the activities and leave. Assistance will be sought from the Police as and when necessary. The LCSD and the system contractor of URBTIX have also been keeping in view ticket sales situation from time to time, and have kept enhancing the online ticketing system, so as to block malicious browsing and ticket purchasing. A new anti-forgery feature has also been incorporated to URBTIX tickets since March 2017 to further strengthen security.
 
     The "Terms and Conditions of Sale of Tickets" and "Notice to Ticket Buyers" of URBTIX specify that URBTIX has never authorised anybody to sell its tickets via alternative arrangements other than designated venues and channels. Buying unauthorised tickets through unofficial channels will not only encourage ticket scalping activities, but will also carry risks. The Government has always been appealing to the public to purchase tickets through authorised channels for avoiding loss from fraudulent activities. 
 
     The Government will keep monitoring the ticket sales situation closely with a view to curbing illegal ticket scalping activities.
 
Ends/Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Issued at HKT 12:58
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