Ticketmaster faces antitrust scrutiny in Mexico following Bad Bunny ticket sales fiasco

A disruption to the company’s software led to venue staff turning away fans with legitimate tickets.

Igor Bonifacic|@igorbonifacic|December 18, 2022 8:39 PM

According to The New York Times, the head of Profeco, Mexico's consumer protection watchdog, plans to file a lawsuit against the company. Bad Bunny was going to play two sold out shows in Mexico City on the weekend of December 9th and 10th. Thousands of fans were denied entry to the venue after they were told their tickets were fake.

The company was accused of selling too many tickets. More than 1,600 ticket holders were denied entry on the first night and another 100 on the second night. The head of Profeco said that the tickets were all issued by them. A 20 percent compensation fee will be added to the full price of the tickets. A class-action lawsuit is about to be filed. The company could be fined up to 10% of its total sales. If they don't want to pay their own will, we'll seize their accounts and they'll pay.

The company denied the claim in a statement. More than 4.5 million people tried to buy Bad Bunny tickets, and the event was blamed on the demand for them. According to the company, an "unprecedented number of false tickets, not bought through our official channels, were presented at the gates." The situation, in addition to confusion among access control personnel, caused temporary interruptions in the ticket reading system.

In November, Democratic lawmakers, including House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, began calling for the break up of the company. The merger of LiveNation and Ticketmaster should never have been approved because they are a monopoly. LiveNation was the subject of an antitrust investigation by the US Department of Justice, according to reports. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumers will be holding a hearing on the company's recent failures.