Getting tickets

As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
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Perryashburtongroves
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Re: Getting tickets

Post by Perryashburtongroves »

BobbyPires7 wrote:
Sun Feb 05, 2023 10:07 pm
I’m a long-term season ticket holder. I also sit right at the back of the lower tier near the stewards. This season has been noticeable for the fact that untold characters turn up each game hopelessly looking for where their seat is. Sometimes it’s like watching a Benny Hill sketch. They turn up late and go down the wrong row. Everyone gets up to to let them in. I can see there is no spare seat. They then go down another row etc etc until they finally find where they are sitting. Everything is on a phone. I would say for sure that these are touted tickets. Just looking at the people, they are obviously tourists. Pretty much all have been bought from touts. Touting is out of control at Arsenal. The Club are complicit as they could quite straightforwardly stop it by using captcha technology. Perhaps some mystery shopping to some of these touts in the West End. Could easily be shut down.
This is just the thing that fucking winds me up. You can tell a tourist from a mile away; no fucking idea where they're going, staring at a phone, turning up late because they've just bought one off a tout or downloaded something or whatever, shopping bag of shirts from the shop. The club have known for years that this goes on and have done nothing about it. I remember writing an angry email to the box office about 15 years ago with a long list of websites that had sent emails to me offering Arsenal tickets because as a season ticket holder at the time, they had somehow got my details. The club wrote back to say thank you and that they would be looking into it. That was 15 years ago. God knows what it's like these days but it does seem that the QR code thing isn't working as it can be forwarded as many times as you want. The ticket exchange needs a complete overhaul as it now seems unfit for purpose and just constantly hit by bots, surely there's a better way around this which isn't so open to abuse. It's all very well suspending memberships and all that, but 25,000 or whatever the figure was that were linked bots is simply staggering. How about not just opening up memberships to anyone who wants one? Cap the memberships which can purchase tickets for two years and start a waiting list for new red members.

Red Snapper
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Re: Getting tickets

Post by Red Snapper »

Interesting development. Last two times the ticket hub wouldn't let me in until I turned off the VPN I use from Mcafee.

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OneBardGooner
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Re: Getting tickets

Post by OneBardGooner »

ARSENAL FC Website:

We thank all our supporters for the amazing support this season.

We’re aware that some of our members have found it difficult to access tickets due to unprecedented levels of demand and we know, in some instances, tickets have been acquired through bot traffic and touts.

We are working extensively to address these issues and clamp down on this illegal activity. We want to keep supporters updated with progress on this.

Our increased efforts include a new process for dealing with suspicious online activity. This means users will either be banned immediately if there's sufficient proof of illegal activity, or tickets purchased where we suspect unusual behaviour will be held for collection where the purchaser must produce ID to obtain them. If they're a season ticket holder, our stadium management team will also carry out seat checks to ensure the right person is using the ticket.

In recent months, we have been sending more Arsenal ticketing staff to away games to carry out a greater number of enforced collections of tickets where we suspect suspicious behaviour. These supporters are required to show their ID to collect tickets.

We’re also working on developing new technology that blocks email addresses or payment cards once they’ve been associated with an account that has previously been blocked for touting activity. New and improved technology that requires supporters to prove they’re not bots has also been introduced. This will be updated regularly to ensure returning bots can’t navigate the system.

The technological enhancements we’ve implemented have already resulted in the blocking of over 25,000 IP addresses for suspicious activity each time we’ve gone on sale to members in recent weeks. We expect the security improvements will enable us to identify more misused memberships which would add to the thousands of members we have already banned for ticket touting.

We want to stress that these measures will not impact supporters who are purchasing tickets for themselves and we remind all supporters that tickets for our matches are only available through the channels as advertised on Arsenal.com and official Arsenal channels. Anyone buying tickets from unofficial outlets runs the risk of being denied access to the match, paying heavily inflated prices and receiving fake or duplicated tickets.

To help protect our supporters from touting, and to improve the availability and access to our matches, we also operate the Arsenal Ticket Exchange – providing a safe and secure place for members to exchange and acquire tickets. However, we must remind everyone that the current demand for tickets is extremely high with hundreds of members often trying to simultaneously purchase the limited number of tickets that are posted.

We’ll continue our work to combat the illegal sale of match tickets and share best practices on combatting bots and touts with other football clubs. We reiterate, any Arsenal member found to be touting will have their membership cancelled.

If you have been affected by touting or want to report an unauthorised seller/website, please email us.

Copyright 2023 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.

Daycat
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Re: Getting tickets

Post by Daycat »

Has anyone else been having issues when trying to purchase tickets off the ticket exchange or have you managed to have some success? No matter how quick I respond to availability coming up they end up showing as unavailable as soon as I go to pick a seat available.

Rian1
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Re: Getting tickets

Post by Rian1 »

In other words they can’t do anything this season.

Tracking IP and all that is well good but simply put a restriction that members signed up or renewals up to 2-3 seasons ago are given greater priority to enter and buy tickets. Why is Steve from Clapham allowed to buy tickets since purchasing his membership in October because we started the run of good games?

My household/extended family has held ST and Silver memberships since when we were shite and we STILL struggle to get tickets. I even missed City’s game for this.

Shouldn’t even be a question to get tickets for folks like us in a season like this. Some of the people at the stadium weren’t even interested at the Arsenal when we were playing Thursday nights and fighting for T8.

Gunner Rob
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Re: Getting tickets

Post by Gunner Rob »

Rian1 wrote:
Tue Feb 07, 2023 5:44 pm
In other words they can’t do anything this season.

Tracking IP and all that is well good but simply put a restriction that members signed up or renewals up to 2-3 seasons ago are given greater priority to enter and buy tickets. Why is Steve from Clapham allowed to buy tickets since purchasing his membership in October because we started the run of good games?

My household/extended family has held ST and Silver memberships since when we were shite and we STILL struggle to get tickets. I even missed City’s game for this.

Shouldn’t even be a question to get tickets for folks like us in a season like this. Some of the people at the stadium weren’t even interested at the Arsenal when we were playing Thursday nights and fighting for T8.
totally agree with what you say but i suppose the club don't want to put restrictions on new red members because otherwise they wont take out that membership!

there should certainly be a way of introducing credits though if you have attended matches in previous seasons.
it is very annoying to know that i have bothered to go to crap Europa League matches but yet am unable to buy just ONE ticket for a league game this season.

Rian1
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Re: Getting tickets

Post by Rian1 »

Gunner Rob wrote:
Tue Feb 07, 2023 8:02 pm
Rian1 wrote:
Tue Feb 07, 2023 5:44 pm
In other words they can’t do anything this season.

Tracking IP and all that is well good but simply put a restriction that members signed up or renewals up to 2-3 seasons ago are given greater priority to enter and buy tickets. Why is Steve from Clapham allowed to buy tickets since purchasing his membership in October because we started the run of good games?

My household/extended family has held ST and Silver memberships since when we were shite and we STILL struggle to get tickets. I even missed City’s game for this.

Shouldn’t even be a question to get tickets for folks like us in a season like this. Some of the people at the stadium weren’t even interested at the Arsenal when we were playing Thursday nights and fighting for T8.
totally agree with what you say but i suppose the club don't want to put restrictions on new red members because otherwise they wont take out that membership!

there should certainly be a way of introducing credits though if you have attended matches in previous seasons.
it is very annoying to know that i have bothered to go to crap Europa League matches but yet am unable to buy just ONE ticket for a league game this season.
The emirates was and has always been full 80-85% of the time. What’s an influx of 10k new membership going to do to them, they’ll sell tickets to capacity anyway and they have done so before the new people arrived.. The new membership money is lucrative but if this comes to our expenses, then I think it’s unfair.

Gunner Rob
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Re: Getting tickets

Post by Gunner Rob »

the match where you really should be able to get a ticket on the ticket exchange will be the rescheduled match v Everton, which is now an evening kick off.

if no tickets become available for that then really the system is not fit for purpose.
You should really only be able to enter the stadium with proof of ID and a valid membership card - there seems to be too many loopholes that the touts have exploited and they are clearly in charge here.

Gunner Rob
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Re: Getting tickets

Post by Gunner Rob »

im noticing increasing anger on twitter etc about all this - there are some sites which have hundreds of tickets available for the match this weekend for vastly inflated prices.

why is the club not shutting these sites down and the tickets put onto the ticket exchange instead ?

arrgee
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Re: Getting tickets

Post by arrgee »

Gunner Rob wrote:
Wed Feb 08, 2023 3:27 pm
the match where you really should be able to get a ticket on the ticket exchange will be the rescheduled match v Everton, which is now an evening kick off.

if no tickets become available for that then really the system is not fit for purpose.
You should really only be able to enter the stadium with proof of ID and a valid membership card - there seems to be too many loopholes that the touts have exploited and they are clearly in charge here.
None so far. Not even in the prawn circle.

BobbyPires7
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Re: Getting tickets

Post by BobbyPires7 »

The Club has a major touting problem. They either choose to sort it or they will alienate a lot of the domestic fanbase.

Daycat
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Location: Wales

Re: Getting tickets

Post by Daycat »

Gunner Rob wrote:
Wed Feb 08, 2023 3:27 pm
the match where you really should be able to get a ticket on the ticket exchange will be the rescheduled match v Everton, which is now an evening kick off.

if no tickets become available for that then really the system is not fit for purpose.
You should really only be able to enter the stadium with proof of ID and a valid membership card - there seems to be too many loopholes that the touts have exploited and they are clearly in charge here.
By chance I happened to be signed on to the site and clicked on that game and it did show a good few areas as available, but in the blink of an eye all the areas went light blue meaning the availability had went. Never seen tickets go so quick on the site.

Gunner Rob
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Re: Getting tickets

Post by Gunner Rob »

Daycat wrote:
Thu Feb 09, 2023 5:16 pm
Gunner Rob wrote:
Wed Feb 08, 2023 3:27 pm
the match where you really should be able to get a ticket on the ticket exchange will be the rescheduled match v Everton, which is now an evening kick off.

if no tickets become available for that then really the system is not fit for purpose.
You should really only be able to enter the stadium with proof of ID and a valid membership card - there seems to be too many loopholes that the touts have exploited and they are clearly in charge here.
By chance I happened to be signed on to the site and clicked on that game and it did show a good few areas as available, but in the blink of an eye all the areas went light blue meaning the availability had went. Never seen tickets go so quick on the site.
That’s because you are up against robots

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OneBardGooner
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Re: Getting tickets

Post by OneBardGooner »

BBC:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64497260


:roll:


No Shit Sherlock! FFS!



Premier League: Ticket touting a 'significant and rising' problem

By Katie Falkingham
BBC Sport



Top Premier League clubs each have between 8-12,000 season tickets, memberships and hospitality tickets under the control of touts, claims a leading security expert.

Reg Walker, of Iridium Consultancy, believes it is a "significant, rising" problem that requires "cohesive, coordinated action" from authorities.

A number of Premier League clubs have been highlighting the issue, with Arsenal, Brighton and Leeds recently saying they are cracking down on it.

Walker told BBC Sport the black market of Premier League ticket touting is worth more than £50m per year, but the true scale of the issue is "much underrated".

"It's certainly getting worse season by season," said Walker. "If you take 10 years ago, a major football tout would have had maybe a couple of hundred club memberships.

"Now you're looking at touts with, in some instances, over 1,000 memberships."

Fan 'memberships' are where people can register their details with the club - often for a nominal annual fee - and receive certain ticketing benefits ahead of the general public.

In January, Brighton blocked 150 mostly Liverpool fans from gaining entry to the home section of the Amex Stadium for their FA Cup fourth-round tie.

The Seagulls discovered touts had set up multiple fake accounts to buy tickets from the club before reselling them for up to £250. The club blocked the tickets, calling it an "absolutely shameless exploitation of football fans".

As recently as Tuesday, Arsenal said they had recently blocked "100,000 suspected bots" from their ticketing site.

In a statement, they added: "A significant number of season ticket and membership accounts have also been banned for suspicious touting activity."

"Certainly more could be done, and certainly it needs to be co-ordinated by the Football Association and the Premier League," said Walker, who added there has been a "small number of instances" of ticket touting corruption within clubs.

"There needs to be cohesive, co-ordinated action around the UK rather than it just be left to each individual club.

"It's not a club problem, this is a football problem and it needs the FA and the Premier League to take leadership on this."

What does the law say?

The current law is "absolutely inadequate", says Walker. Under section 166 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, it is a criminal offence for an unauthorised person to sell a ticket for a designated football match.

However, the offence is summary only, meaning offenders can only be issued with a fine.

According to Home Office figures on football-related offences, just 13 arrests were made for offences related to ticket touting during the 2021-22 season.

That figure has largely been declining season on season since there were 104 arrests in 2013-14.

In 2018, one top-flight club cancelled just under 8,000 memberships that had been acquired by touts, according to Walker.

He added it is not uncommon to see some 200 fans per game turned away at ticket turnstiles with invalid tickets - a figure that is only "scratching the surface".

Walker - who works with the government on the issue and was involved with anti-ticket touting work at the 2012 Olympics - believes further action is necessary to protect fan safety, with many touted tickets often seating supporters in areas reserved for rival fans.

"I think in the current climate, safety is the biggest factor," he said.

"Football is emotive. It's very tribal, so if you are, say, the only Everton fan in the Liverpool end and your team scores and you cheer, that's not going to end well.

"There is a huge problem with public safety, especially also with the unfortunate increase we're seeing in violence at football matches as well, so it's really important that fans are kept safe.

"The legislation was put in place because organised gangs of football hooligans were getting tickets in the opposing team's fans' end and causing absolute carnage.

"We don't want to go back to that situation, so it's essential that we do crack down on touting at football matches in order to prevent public order situations occurring and keep people safe."

What is being done about it?

Many Premier League clubs have switched to digital tickets in a bid to stamp out ticket touting - as well as for environmental reasons - though some still rely on paper tickets.

Since going digital at the start of the season, it is understood Leeds United have noticed a marked improvement in reducing the number of people with invalid tickets gaining access to Elland Road.

The club have put extra stewards and customer services staff on gates to help fans who do not have access to smartphones and still use paper tickets.

However, from Sunday, when Leeds host Manchester United at Elland Road, the club will remove the option for fans to print their tickets at home - and nobody will be able to access the stadium without a digital ticket.

"Mobile ticketing offers incredible tools to clubs in order to track the life of a ticket," said Walker.

"You can track from its sale right through to the person that presents it for entry at the gate. You can monitor how many tickets an account is transferring every year.

"It gives you an incredible ability to detect touting activity, to detect the unauthorised resale of tickets and to shut off about 90% of the haemorrhage of tickets on to the black market."

The FA urges fans "to only purchase tickets through official sources", telling BBC Sport it has "strong and rigorous procedures in place" to prevent ticket touting around Wembley Stadium.

The Premier League has produced a list of unauthorised ticket websites on which touted tickets have been known to be sold, and urges fans to exercise caution when using such websites.

Indications that a ticket could be invalid include heavily inflated ticket prices, tickets on sale many months before a game is scheduled to take place, no confirmation of seat numbers, and large numbers of tickets being on sale for a high-profile match.

Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the National Police Chiefs' Council's lead for football policing, said: "Ticket touting is a criminal offence, and those who are caught exploiting genuine fans through these means will face action.

"We support any proposals made to prevent ticket touting and will continue to work in partnership with clubs and leagues to clamp down on these offences."

A11M11
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Re: Getting tickets

Post by A11M11 »

Touting is a big business and it's not just football.
For many years as you walked down Gillespie road the same old faces were there openly touting tickets. We knew who they were ,so did the police and so did the club. Just before the club left Highbury there was a famous case of of a round up and the touts were up before the magistrates at Clerkenwell . They were found guilty and fined £50.00 and told not to do it again .
Next game they were all there again , they were outside the Albert Hall for an Eric Clapton concert and at Wembley Park station for concerts , the O2 and every other event where there was a high demand for tickets that I went to.
The problem is that as much as clubs look at it until the authorities take it seriously it will continue and it is very low on their list of priorities.
Back in the day one of the biggest sources for tickets was the staff , the players and people with contacts in the club. The west stand upper was full of them . Who knows if that route has been closed ? Somehow I doubt it.

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