Red card for scalpers: Ontario’s Bill 97 tackles ticket resale for FIFA World Cup 2026

With the ball rolling on this year’s FIFA World Cup 2026, Ontarians hoping to catch one of Toronto’s six home games at BMO Field have discovered the real drama has been unfolding off the pitch. Resale platforms such as Ticketmaster have temporarily delisted tickets to the event following Ontario’s recent budget bill.

Ontario has held up a yellow card to the ticket resale market for years, but with the recent uproar surrounding inflated prices for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and last year’s Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series, Ontario placed price gouging back on its agenda.

The result is Bill 97, the Plan to Protect Ontario Act (Budget Measures), which, among other things, made significant changes to the Ticket Sales Act (the “Act”) as part of a broader scheme to protect Ontario consumers.

From budget bill to price cap

The Act governs the sale and resale of tickets to entertainment, sporting, cultural, and other prescribed events in Ontario. Prior to April 24, 2026, the Act did not limit the price a ticketholder could charge on resale. Now, the Act caps the resale price to the total price the seller originally paid, plus any permitted fees or service charges.^[1]

Importantly, these pricing limitations only apply to secondary sellers reselling on a secondary market, not primary sellers. So, what distinguishes a primary seller from a secondary one?

Defining the playing field: Primary vs. secondary sellers

In general, fans can score tickets from either a primary or secondary seller. The Act defines a primary seller as someone who is engaged in the business of making tickets available for sale,^[2] including venue owners or event promoters. When a fan purchases a ticket directly from FIFA’s official ticketing site, they are buying from a primary seller.

A secondary seller is someone who sells a ticket that was originally made available for sale by a primary seller. For example, a ticketholder who purchased a ticket through FIFA’s official ticketing site may resell it on FIFA’s designated secondary market: the FIFA Resale/Exchange Marketplace.

By eliminating price competition among secondary sellers while leaving primary sellers uncapped, the Act may consolidate market power among those who are first to sell tickets. However, as a piece of legislation, the amendments Bill 97 made to the Act seek to protect Ontario consumers primarily. Thus, the Act itself does not facilitate any violations under the Competition Act, but ticketing companies should consider whether this new market structure could facilitate anti-competitive arrangements in the future.

Offside on compliance: Challenges for platforms and fans

The new pricing restriction on secondary sales raises several practical challenges for both ticketing platforms and fans. While these consumer protection measures appear beneficial on their face, they may have unintended downstream effects for consumers which Ontario may not have anticipated or sufficiently addressed.

For platforms seeking to preserve a “set-your-own-price” resale model in other provinces, none of which have signalled an intention to follow Ontario’s approach, this means ensuring their Ontario listings comply with the new price cap, at least for secondary sellers. This compliance complexity may create a unique challenge for events spanning multiple provinces, including nationwide tours.

Second, ticketing platforms may no longer capitalize as effectively on sudden event popularity, such as a sporting team’s mid-season rise or a musician’s overnight fame. Previously, platforms could earn larger proportional fees when resellers charged premium prices for in-demand tickets. Under the new rules, this revenue stream may be significantly curtailed.

That said, the Act does not entirely eliminate these revenue opportunities. While it does limit the maximum price a secondary seller may charge, primary sellers maintain control over the initial price charged. Additionally, ticketing sites maintain the ability to charge additional fees or service charges on resold tickets.^[3] As a result, while fans may benefit from lower resale prices, they may face higher initial prices or service fees as platforms seek to recoup lost revenue.

Lastly, there may be a rise in resale behaviour on informal markets such as social media or private exchanges. However, as the Act defines a secondary seller broadly, only based on the act of selling a previously sold ticket, it likely captures exchanges conducted through informal channels as well. That said, the extent of its application in these contexts remains unclear.

Key takeaways

The Bill 97 amendments underscore three important lessons for consumers, resellers, and ticketing platforms and venues.

1. For secondary sellers, Ontario’s Bill 97 amendments eliminate profit-driven ticket scalping. By tying the maximum resale price to the original purchase price plus fees and service charges, secondary sellers can no longer mark up prices to capitalize on high demand, removing the financial incentive that has historically fueled the resale market.
2. Compliance matters. Currently, only FIFA World Cup 2026 tickets for games at Toronto’s BMO Field are affected, with the other 15 host cities still listing resale tickets without limitations. But for these home games, ticketing companies should take careful note as non-compliance with the Act can result in fines of not more than $250,000.^[4]
3. Both platforms and fans should stay ahead of the curve. Ontario may be the first province to impose a resale price cap, but where one jurisdiction leads, others may follow. Being proactive in understanding and adapting to these regulatory shifts is far less costly than reacting after the fact.

If you have any questions on the impact of Bill 97, the Ticket Sales Act, or other concerns regarding competition or entertainment law, please contact one of the authors or a member of Gowling WLG’s Entertainment & Sports Law Group.