At a time when music festivals, major concerts and sporting events par excellence, and the demand for tickets increases exponentially, the practice of illicit activities related to ticket sales has become increasingly common.
Using unofficial websites that resell tickets or contacts through social networks triggers these same occurrences.
The criminal offence can take several forms: the “seller” can receive payment and not send the digital ticket, he can “sell” the same ticket to several people or even use a fake ticket, sell it as an original and receive the price without ever having owned the ticket in question.
If the purchase is made well in advance with the guarantee that the tickets will only be sent shortly before the date of the event, the victim may not realise that they have been scammed until well after the purchase. This will not make it easy to intercept those responsible, reinforcing the need for extra care.
Therefore, before buying a ticket, you should not only check the reliability of the website you are buying from but also, in the case of a private purchase where the “seller” is a stranger, assess their profile, compare the price they are selling the ticket for with other advertisements and pay attention to the shipping and payment methods.
As we’ll explain below, selling tickets for much more than their original price could also constitute a crime.
Online Ticket Sales Fraud
Article 217, no. 1 of the Penal Code provides for a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine for “Anyone who, with the intention of obtaining for himself or for a third party unlawful enrichment, by means of error or deception about facts which he has cunningly caused, causes another to perform acts which cause him, or cause another person, pecuniary damage…”.
The above article falls under the sale of false tickets and the failure to send them after payment.
Therefore, if you find that you have been the victim of one of these circumstances, the first step should always be to file a complaint, either with the criminal police or on the Complaint Portal, mainly if the purchase was made not between private individuals, but on a website dedicated to the activity. It would be essential to have proof of payment and the existence of the website – which is often deleted after the scam has been perpetrated – or of exchanging messages if the seller was a private individual. In the latter case, having the “seller’s” address will also be necessary, without which it can be difficult to trace.
Under Article 217(2) of the Penal Code, attempted fraud is punishable, and prosecution always depends on the complaint.
Market Laws or Speculation?
Another relevant issue regarding the sale of tickets online is the price set in the event of resale, mainly if it is much higher than the original price. Indeed, it has been considered that this may constitute the commission of the crime of speculation under the terms of article 35 of Decree-Law no. 28/84 of April 21, in the version in force. The Food and Economic Security Authority (ASAE) has even made numerous arrests for allegedly committing this crime.
However, the application of this article is not without controversy. As there is no legal price list for tickets, the doctrine differs as to whether the resale of tickets at a much higher price than the original can be considered a crime of speculation rather than the mere operation of market laws.
On the other hand, case law has held that the intention to make a profit is not a typical element of the crime but that it is enough for the price to be much higher than initially established for it to be considered speculation.
As such, the buyer must exercise special care when purchasing second-hand tickets, and the seller must exercise moderation when setting the price, especially considering the price for which they purchased the ticket they intend to resell.
The content of this information does not constitute any specific legal advice; the latter can only be given when faced with a specific case. Please contact us for any further clarification or information deemed necessary in what concerns the application of the law.