Ontario has issued two new fines totalling $22,500 against SeatGeek Canada for allegedly violating a provincial law that caps the resale price of event tickets at face value, according to the province’s consumer beware website.
The larger of the two penalties, $15,000, was issued for allegedly making a ticket available for sale or facilitating a sale above the resale price limit. The second fine, for $7,500, relates to an alleged failure to disclose the total price of a ticket when it was purchased from a primary seller.
SeatGeek Canada did not immediately respond to questions about which events the fines stem from or whether the company plans to dispute them. Giulia Paikin, a spokesperson for Ontario’s Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery, Stephen Crawford, also did not address questions about the specifics of the penalties, but issued a statement reiterating that anyone found responsible for violating the price cap could face fines of up to $250,000.
“We will not hesitate to hold bad actors who break the rules accountable,” Paikin said in the statement.
Law Followed Fan Backlash
The price cap legislation was introduced earlier this year after complaints from fans over resale prices for tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in 2024 and the Toronto Blue Jays’ playoff run last year. The law is intended to prevent resellers from marking up tickets to events in Ontario well beyond face value and to curb scalpers who buy up tickets to popular concerts and games for resale at inflated prices.
Repeat Penalties and Industry Pushback
This is not the first round of penalties for SeatGeek under the new rules. The company was fined $25,000 in August for similar violations, and rival resale platform StubHub Canada was fined $20,000 in September.
When SeatGeek received its first set of fines, the company told The Canadian Press that it had notified third-party sellers on its platform about the new requirements but was still seeking guidance from the province on compliance. The company has said it can be difficult to verify a ticket’s original face value, since many sellers lack access to that information, tickets can change hands multiple times before being resold, and tickets purchased as part of bundled packages, such as season seats, can be hard to price individually.
SeatGeek has asked Ontario to clarify what would count as acceptable proof of a ticket’s original price and to provide guidance on how resale marketplaces are expected to verify ticket costs.
The Canadian Press first reported on the new fines on Oct. 15, 2026.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.
This article references reporting from:
