By Zahir Muslun

Saskatchewan residents to get first crack at event tickets in the province

Apr 15, 2011 | 4:25 PM

It's going to be a little easier and cheaper to get your hands on event tickets.

Beginning in June, new regulations will give Saskatchewan residents the first crack at shows and concerts.

Don Morgan, the provincial justice minister, says, “what we're doing is trying to curb people from far outside of our jurisdiction that had no intention of participating in our events by coming here.”

As of right now, anyone outside of Saskatchewan can purchase mass amounts of tickets the instant they go on sale.

“A regular user would take them 30 or 90 seconds to read it (and) type it in” says Morgan “whereas a person using an automated system would go on and be able to do a large number of transactions before an ordinary individual would get one.”

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Those behind the automated machines would then resell the tickets to local folks at a steeply increased price. Under the new rules, any unusually large purchase will immediately trigger an investigation.

Ken Wood, executive director of the Credit Union Centre, says it sends a positive message to those attending his venue.

“It gives a first shot, a fair shot, with people from other locations.”

To deter reselling a little further, primary sellers, such as TicketMaster, are not allowed to have links to resellers on their sites.

newa@panow.com