COMPETITION / CRIMINAL: The UK’s Cheltenham Racecourse has been granted a landmark ruling by the High Court to ban ticket touts from the track, The injunction will run until June 2019, covering the full rac season. Cheltenham boss Ian Renton hailed the verdict as a “landmark decision” for sport saying “We welcome the judgement of Mr Justice Nugee at the High Court today, when an injunction was granted against ticket touting at Cheltenham racecourse” adding “This prohibits the selling and buying of tickets by touts on racecourse property, and we welcome this landmark decision” adding “It’s the first time any such injunction has been granted to prevent touting at a racecourse.”
Up to 1,000 fake badges were said to have been sold by touts this year at
Cheltenham, with 200 racegoers having been denied entry to the racecourse after
purchasing invalid tickets. The Jockey Club, the UK’s largest commercial
body for horseracing and operator of Cheltenham, estimates that ticket touting
costs it an estimated £1m (€1.13m/$1.3m) per year across its 15 racecourses.
This is then said to have a £10m estimated cost to racing as a sport.
The racecourse last year attempted to combat touts by partnering with
Cheltenham Council to issue public space protection orders in the town and at
the racecourse. However, with fines set at a maximum of £80 this failed to be
an effective deterrent.
The tatement went on to say “We are grateful for the full support of Cheltenham
Borough Council and Gloucestershire Police in seeking this injunction. This is
the next step in seeking to reduce, and where possible eliminate, the
unpleasant and often criminal activities of touts that undermine the enjoyment
of our racegoers.”
http://accessaa.co.uk/landmark-ruling-bans-ticket-touts-at-cheltenham-racecourse/ https://www.theticketingbusiness.com/2018/10/25/cheltenham-wins-landmark-ruling-ban-touts/
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