ECB demands clampdown on onselling of tickets

	Ashes tickets on offer on eBay ...the ECB has vowed to clamp down on such sales © eBay

The ECB is pressing for more stringent laws to tackle the selling-on of tickets, according to a report in the Guardian.

It is claimed the board has tracked down more than 1900 tickets on offer for the forthcoming ICC World Twenty20, mainly on internet auction and ticket-resale sites. Warnings that people selling seats on this kind of website would be traced and also that tickets could be invalid has seemingly failed to deter people.

On one site today, prices varied from 1p as a starting price up to £725 for 16 seats to the tournament's final at Lord's on June 21. Supply, however, appeared to be outstripping demand. There was far greater interest in seats for the Ashes later in the summer, with tickets having sold out months ago.

The ECB has employed vigorous means to trace sellers and cancel tickets offered on such sites, writing to vendors and offering them a refund but also threatening to take them to court if they are found to have sold on the ticket.

The news is all part of an ongoing campaign by various sporting bodies, including the ECB, to force the government to tighten legislation governing the selling on of tickets. At present, some events, such as football matches, do have a higher level of legal protection.

Websites involved counter that the governing bodies ought to do more to control the initial sale of tickets, an argument dismissed by the ECB.

An eBay spokeswoman , quoted by the Guradian, said the ECB's own official exchange mechanism offered only limited resale. "Even if eBay were to agree to voluntary measures, these tickets would simply be sold elsewhere, either on the internet or on the streets, where there is less consumer protection for fans if there is a problem with the transaction."