Perths grand final ticket scramble makes history as scalper pulled from Gumtree

A ticket to next Saturday’s AFL grand final in Perth was being spruiked for more than twice the price on Gumtree despite new laws threatening heavy fines over such practice, as West Australians made ticket sales’ history on Thursday.

In a matter of minutes the remaining 10,250 tickets for the September 25 event were snapped up, which led to an offer of a category two ticket for $1000, up from the $405 purchase price, being posted on the popular resale site.

A record number of people vied for 10,250 on sale tickets to next Saturday’s AFL grand final at Optus Stadium.Credit:Getty Images

Gumtree quickly pulled down the resale offer, seen by WAtoday, over concerns it could be fined up to $100,000 under WA’s new anti-scalping laws.

The AFL said Thursday’s official sale was the busiest sale in Ticketmaster Australia’s history, with the online queue peaking five times more than for the 2020 grand final in Brisbane, the first held outside Victoria.

AFL chief executive Gil McLachlan said the appetite reflected the passion of WA football fans and the league was checking the record number of people trying online was also a world record.

“I know definitively it’s an Australian record, but I think it’s a world record â€" we’re having that checked,” McLachlan said from grand final venue, Optus Stadium, on Thursday.

“Western Australians love our game. They love their football, it’s a passionate football state.

“I hope that everyone who’s been lucky enough to get a ticket comes along and chooses a team.

“I hope they make some noise, have a great day and enjoy the greatest day on the Australian sporting calendar.”

Last week, the WA government rushed through legislation making ticket scalping illegal in a bid to avoid people using the grand final as a money-making scheme.

Any individual found breaking the law could be fined up to $20,000, with companies to be slugged up to $100,000.

Grand final prices started at $185, peaking at $450 across six price ranges.

A Gumtree spokesperson said ticket sales were subject to local legislation and they strongly encouraged the community to report any listings believed to be unlawful, or in breach of its terms of use, through the ‘report ad’ button.

“In line with the Western Australia ticket scalping legislation, we updated our ‘selling tickets on Gumtree’ policy, which will have implications for new listings,” they said.

“In addition, our customer service team drives monitoring and moderation systems, and we also work with law enforcement and consumer protection regulators to flag and remove unlawful listings.”

AFL boss admits ‘relief’ at season end

McLachlan said it was a relief to get the season to this point as he cautiously discussed a contingency plan if COVID-19 cases were to appear in WA in the lead-up to the September 25 season decider.

“It’s been a year of resilience and finding a way with huge support from our members and supporters and fans,” he said.

“If something happened ... we’ve been dealing with this for two years and we would be able to find a way to deal with it.

“We are here and have got through the last two seasons by playing the percentages and making percentage decisions right the way through. I think we’ve been rewarded for that. That’s just our mindset.

“There’s risk every day, we’ll deal with it as it comes up.“

McLachlan hoped to see events across Perth next week in the lead-up to the weekend’s grand final and urged footy fans in the west to take time to enjoy the build up.

“Take the whole week off, I would, that’s what everyone else does in Melbourne. [Everyone] doesn’t seem to do a hell of a lot of work, just have a cracking time,” he said.

“It’s been 150 years in the making to get the grand final here, and I reckon take the week off, have lunches, go your hardest.”

Share this post