Blockchain is being applied in many industries from art to real estate to finance illustrating how adaptable the technology is and the types of opportunities it can unlock. For the sports industry, though, one of the most impactful use cases comes in the form of ticketing on the blockchain. The latest data shows that victims have lost around £1.05 million to online ticket scams, but thanks to innovative applications of blockchain technology, the ticketing industry is being reshaped, removing some of the biggest challenges.
Ticketing Industry Challenges
The online ticketing industry continues to experience massive growth. With it, there has been a shift from physical paper tickets to e-tickets to a mobile ticketing experience. And this growth is set to keep on rising. The global events ticket market is projected to reach nearly $40 billion from 2020 to 2024, growing CAGR six per cent during this time frame.
Yet, while the market is growing, it also faces key challenges. For instance, secondary ticket sale websites charging exorbitant prices and ticketing touts — who buy tickets in bulk before selling them at an increased price — remain persistent issues within the industry, not to mention the high levels of counterfeit tickets in circulation.
According to a 2016 independent review by professor Michael Waterson, 23% of buyers thought a reseller was an official vendor. A further 43% indicated that Google was where they searched to purchase tickets, with many fans buying sporting event tickets on secondary ticketing websites without even realising.
Using blockchain for ticketing is an innovative solution that is already being introduced by countless companies worldwide. Let’s take a closer look at why blockchain is being used and the problems it’s helping to solve.
What Issues Can Blockchain Ticketing Solve?
As the ticketing industry shifts away from paper tickets to a digital ticketing system, event organisers and authentic ticket websites need to come up with a solution that gives them greater control while limiting ticket fraud. Blockchain technology is providing the answer by revolutionising the industry.
Ticketing fraud
Ticket fraud is when a fan buys tickets, whether it’s for a sporting event or a festival, and the buyer thinks they’re purchasing them from a trustworthy company or reseller. In fact often fans can end up paying for tickets that they may never receive. Ticketing on the blockchain solves this issue because it provides oversight of all transactions while the use of smart contracts ensure that predetermined conditions have to be met before tickets are released. For instance, Mark and Rebecca transact with each other. Mark pays Rebecca $20. Inside a smart contract is the ticket Rebecca is giving to Mark on the grounds that he pays her $20. Once the network has confirmed that the $20 is true, the smart contract releases the ticket to Mark. Blockchain also enables buyers to look up a transaction on a blockchain explorer to track the authenticity of a ticket.
Ticket resales
Fake ticket resales are another issue that the ticketing industry faces. Scammers set up fake websites with these so-called legitimate tickets, targeting people who are searching for a sporting event ticket. So prevalent is this issue that there are plenty of handy tips on how to avoid becoming a target online. Another method that is solving this problem is blockchain ticketing. Through a blockchain explorer, buyers have the capacity to track a ticket’s origin, giving them the confidence to know that the ticket they are purchasing is authentic. By ensuring that tickets are traceable, fans are assured that they are legitimate. With no way to replicate or forge them, it would, essentially, eliminate those selling fake tickets.
Slow, Centralised Systems
A third issue that plagues the ticketing industry are centralised systems or inefficient processes. When there is a rush for tickets, it’s these centralised websites and servers that crash causing further delay with the ticketing process and causing many fans to miss out to touts. As a foundation for ticketing systems, a decentralised blockchain network is virtually free from any downtime or malicious attacks, creating a more streamlined and efficient ticketing process — giving fans a better chance of securing tickets for their event.
With people keen to get back to sporting events post-Covid, the ticketing industry is set to see a surge in purchases. This, in turn, could mean that scammers will be increasingly active at targeting those who are searching for tickets. For this reason, it’s important that ticket issuers, sports teams, and event organisers get started with implementing a blockchain ticketing solution into their business.
While steps are certainly being made to mitigate problems, more needs to be done. Protokol is helping ticket issuers and event organisers across the sporting industry unlock the value of blockchain technology for their business with our custom blockchain solutions. Utilising flexible and adaptable blockchain platforms, the services we offer are completely tailored to the needs of your individual organisation. Whether that means a fully-fledged ticketing ecosystem, or a simple solution that ensures the authenticity of tickets, we take the time to understand your business, to ensure that we deliver solutions that drive real value, and produce a measurable ROI for your business.
By implementing Protokol’s blockchain ticketing solutions, sports teams and ticketing issuers can eliminate ticket fraud, enjoy faster processes, and create fully traceable tickets that can’t be forged or replicated. Why not book Protokol in for a consultation where we’ll show you how you can use digital ledger technology for blockchain ticketing in sports in your organisation. Get in touch with our experts here: protokol.com/contact/