DUBAI // Touts trying to make money from selling Indian Premier League cricket tickets online for hugely inflated prices have been thwarted.
As soon as the IPL was made aware that tickets for the matches in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah were selling on the classified advertising website Dubizzle the adverts were removed.
David East, the chief executive of Emirates Cricket Board and Abu Dhabi Cricket Club, said: “The IPL was made aware of it [on Tuesday] and took immediate action with Dubizzle. If any further instances occur, immediate action will again be taken.”
Prices for tickets for the 20 games to be played in the three cities from April 16 range from Dh25 to Dh250 but, by Tuesday, many of the top-priced tickets were for sale for at least four times their face value.
Dubizzle, a free website for buying and selling almost anything, confirmed that it had taken down posts from people trying to resell tickets.
“With regards to reselling events tickets, if it is against the terms and conditions of the event organiser to resell tickets or a certain event organiser decides not to allow tickets resales for their event on our website, then we will gladly collaborate with them on that, as long as they officially inform us beforehand,” said Barry Judge, the website’s general manager.
“We have a 24/7 customer support team who are always monitoring all sorts of ads, we are strict in this regard and always aim to protect our users – if we detect any illegal activity, we are quick to delete the ad and warn the user.”
Although there were no more tickets for sale on Dubizzle, IPL fans were still on the lookout to buy them from touts.
“I know it’s illegal to buy IPL tickets from people, but I’m desperate to get my hands on them,” said one man trying to purchase 13 premium tickets.”
Another Dubizzle user, who was looking to buy four tickets, said: “I know it’s illegal, but my friend was supposed to buy the tickets from Lulu Hypermarket and he was not able to get them because of some technical problem.”
One IPL fan looking to buy two premium tickets said she had posted an ad on Dubizzle out of frustration.
“I am so frustrated with the IPL system and management. The way they were selling the tickets was not organised at all,” said DJM, from India.
“They said at 10 o’clock tickets will be sold at Lulu Hypermarket and I was there in line at 10 o’clock on April 7. However, they said there was a problem with the system and told us to fill out an application. They said they will contact us once the system was up and running but no one contacted us.
“I had even tried to buy tickets online on April 3, when the website went live, but it wouldn’t let me buy Platinum tickets.”
DJM said she was no longer interested in going to the games, as the prices touts were asking for were too high.
“Each ticket costs Dh250 originally, and I am willing to pay a slight increase, but the prices some are asking for are ridiculous.”
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae
