THE ECB have welcomed the publication of proposals by the Government to protect major sporting events from touting, especially the warnings that legislation could be introduced to curb reselling in the secondary market. The Ashes this summer will be the hottest ticket in town.

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The ECB's chief executive David Collier said: “Touting has become a scourge on all major sporting events. The short term impact is to price out fans, the longer term impact could be to turn people, in particular families,  away from the sport. That is why the ECB and international match venues are taking decisive action to clamp down on their activities at this summer’s ICC World Twenty20 and npower Ashes series.

"We understand that sports themselves have a key role to play in stopping touting. That is why we are committing considerable resource to the fight and have already succeeded in cancelling hundreds of touted tickets for the major events of this summer. We have also introduced an electronic exchange system for the ICC World Twenty20 which provides supporters with the opportunity to dispose of tickets which, for genuine reasons, they can no longer utilise through an official channel .

“The ECB can only do so much to prevent touting. To be really effective we need to strengthen our partnership with Government. The ECB is pleased the Government has issued a formal consultation to address touting, which has spread due to the efficiency of electronic systems. We will take this opportunity to demonstrate the work we are doing and make the case that, unless the secondary market addresses the sale of tickets above face value,  new legislation is needed.

"The ECB have previously proposed to the secondary market that they work with us to prevent touting abuses at the very top matches. Unfortunately they have not agreed. We hope the clear statement of intent from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport makes them reconsider their actions.”

The ECB has been campaigning for greater regulatory action against touting for several years and David Collier has been a member of the Government's ticket touting summits. The ECB recently published their own guidance to supporters on touting, including the establishment of an email hotline to report suspected ticket touts. More information is available at:
www.ecb.co.uk/ecb/about-ecb/media-releases/ecb-leads-battle-against-touts,304109,EN.html