Swarms of people took to the Facebook event page to complain about being online when tickets became available, only to miss out in a matter of seconds.

“I was logged in at 11:00am and sat here waiting and some how still missed!” one wrote.

And to make matters worse, once the tickets were cleaned up advertisements started appearing on ticket re-sale website viagogo for more than three times the asking price.

On June 1 it became illegal in NSW to resell tickets above original cost plus transaction fees (capped at 10 per cent).

But advertisements for tickets at premium prices have kept appearing on re-sale websites since.

NSW Fair Trading said it was “currently looking into the activities” of various ticket sellers including viagogo and Ticketmaster Resale for potential contraventions of the law.

Penalties for breaches of the new ticket scalping laws involve individual fines up to $22,000 and organisation penalties up to $110,000.

Fair Trading said it had recently issued a number of “trader education letters” but did not provide a response to The Mercury’s question about how many people had been punished under the new laws.

“Fair Trading will consider enforcement action based on the facts and circumstances in each case, and where such action is appropriate,” the spokesperson said.   

When The Mercury asked viagogo if it was aware of the ads, the company directed us to its Frequently Asked Questions, where it states: “viagogo does not set ticket prices, sellers set their own prices, which may be above or below the original face value. Where demand is high and tickets are limited, prices increase”.

It goes on to say customers will often find different tickets for the same section at varying prices. “Ticket sellers compete to offer the best price to customers”.

Ticketmaster said sellers were made aware during the listing process about the rules related to re-selling. 

“For tickets being listed in NSW, we explicitly state the following clearly on our marketplace: ‘Local law prohibits the resale of tickets for this venue for more than 10 per cent above the price (including fees) originally paid for the ticket’,” a spokesperson said. 

The spokesperson also said Ticketmaster conducted regular sweeps of its site. 

“If we become aware that a seller is attempting to sell tickets above the 10 per cent cap, we contact them reminding them of their obligations, and will ultimately pull listings down.”