Buying and selling Hong Kong Sevens tickets? New ‘marketplace’ to protect fans
HKRFU teams up with online company to provide platform for reselling unwanted tickets
The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union has launched a “marketplace” to buy and sell Sevens tickets in its continuing efforts to protect fans from the black market and combat touts.
The union has engaged online marketplace company Viagogo to provide an authorised platform for buying and selling unwanted tickets to the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens next March 27-29, and other international matches and tournaments in Hong Kong.
HKRFU chief executive Vern Reid said the Sevens had been heavily oversubscribed for the most of the past 40 years and unscrupulous operators preyed on fans desperate for tickets to the world’s most popular sevens event.
“Each year, we identify dozens of risky websites and over one hundred street sellers offering tickets for the Sevens. In some cases, these tickets have been proven to not be genuine, leaving consumers with no recourse.
Each year, we identify dozens of risky websites and over one hundred street sellers offering tickets for the Sevens
“The HKRFU is partnering with Viagogo in an effort to protect fans from the black market and combat touts, while offering our local and global fan base total peace of mind when buying and selling tickets to the Sevens and other premier international matches in Hong Kong,” Reid said.
The union said over 90 per cent of ticket resale for the Sevens had taken place on unauthorised websites or through street sellers, where there is no consumer protection and no recourse for fans holding a fraudulent ticket.