AFL fans urged to purchase finals tickets through Ticketek as Victorian government cracks down on scalping

The AFL has warned footy fans to beware of scalped tickets being sold at inflated prices as they secure their seats for the first finals series in Melbourne since 2019.

The warning comes following a series of busts with authorised ticketing officers detecting and removing more than 70 listings for the resale of tickets to week one of the AFL finals in Victoria.

The tickets were found on secondary ticket selling platforms including eBay, Gumtree and Viagogo.

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Tickets for the sold-out qualifying final between Geelong and Collingwood on Saturday night were listed for $500 on Gumtree instead of the original value of $350.

AFL spokesperson Jay Allen told Skynews.com.au the best way to avoid being ripped off and secure tickets was by purchasing them via authorised ticketing agents.

“The AFL Strongly encourages fans to only purchase tickets for the two MCG finals this weekend through the authorised ticketing agent Ticketek,” Mr Allen said.

“It was a fantastic first week of finals with over 263,000 fans attending and four of the best games of the season.

“Tickets go on sale this morning with competing club members to get first access to tickets and again we strongly encourage all fans to only use the authorised ticket agent – Ticketek,” he said.

The Victorian government cracked down on scalpers ripping off audiences and ensured tickets were available to everyone by amending the Major Events Act 2009 earlier this year.

The legislation protects eventgoers by making it illegal to resell any ticket for a major event for more than 10 per cent above the face value of the ticket.

MCC Chief Stuart Fox told the Herald Sun that fans needed to “be careful” and discouraged fans from using secondary sites.

“No doubt scalpers will come to the ’G to try and clear their tickets but I can assure you there will be a security and police presence and hundreds of cameras watching,’’ Mr Fox said.

“If people are caught they will be dealt with accordingly.

“So we strongly discourage it and encourage fans not to use secondary markets that aren’t legit to buy tickets… you would be taking a big risk.”

Authorised ticket officers will continue to monitor for fraudulent activity with penalties running from $908 to $545,220 depending on the severity of the offence.

This weekend’s semi finals matches are Melbourne vs Brisbane Lions on Friday and Collingwood vs Fremantle on Saturday, with tickets on sale Monday.