Cleveland Amends Scalping Law

The Cleveland City Council has amended an anti-scalping law to allow people holding tickets to sporting events, concerts and plays to sell their seats online for more than face value.

Scalping on the streets remains illegal under the change approved June 12th.

The law should offer buyers protection from scalpers who advertise tickets online but then issue counterfeits or fail to deliver the tickets.

“The fans win two ways, because they now have a source for tickets they know will be valid, and more sellers equals price for competition,” said Kerry Samovar, senior VP at Ticketmaster, which campaigned to change the law.

Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians offer a Web service that allows season ticket holders to sell their ducats for face value. Indians spokesman Bob DiBiasio said he wasn’t sure if the team would allow scalping on its site, but he liked the idea of the Indians having more control over the transaction.

“If it’s us selling the ticket, you know what you’re going to get,” DiBiasio said.