Police ask BookMyShow to prevent black-marketing of tickets ahead of Coldplay tour

Mumbai: Maharashtra police's cyber wing has issued a notice to online ticketing website BookMyShow, asking it to implement strict measures including sale of name-based tickets for the concerts of British band 'Coldplay' in January and other shows.

The notice was issued by the Maharashtra Cyber to prevent exploitation of fans who buy tickets from online platforms, an official said on Wednesday.

There are increasing number of complaints across online forums and social media about problems faced in booking tickets of such high-profile concerts and events through online platforms, he said.

Many people reported unresponsive websites during critical booking period, he said, adding that it leads to black-marketing of tickets at exorbitant prices, sometimes as high as 10 times the original price.

The Maharashtra Cyber found that measures taken by the platforms to avoid such situations are insufficient, said the official.

A PIL has also been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking guidelines to curb black marketing and ticket scalping at major events, in the backdrop of alleged foul play during the online tickets sale for Coldplay’s highly anticipated concert in Navi Mumbai in January 2025.

The PIL said there are several irregularities and illegalities during the sale of tickets for major events, such as concerts, live shows and so on.

Such irregularity and illegality was witnessed in September when tickets for the Coldplay concert were made available on the BookMyShow platform, it said.