Computicket agrees to another fine for ticket deals
Shoprite-owned Computicket has agreed with the Competition Commission to pay a fine of R11.3m after it was found to have entered into exclusive deals with theatres, promoters, and other event organisers between 2013 and 2018, which excluded competitors from entering the ticketing market.
In 2019, Computicket was fined R20m for the same offences spanning the period between 2005 and 2010, notes a News24 report.
Computicket lost an appeal against that fine in the Competition Appeal Court and since 2019 has removed the exclusivity provisions in its deals with event organisers.
The commission also noted the ‘successful entry’ of several other new ticket distribution firms in recent years.
‘The commission is pleased that its previous and present prosecutions against Computicket have yielded significant, and lasting change to the outsourced ticket distribution landscape, which was under the stranglehold of Computicket through its strategy of locking in customers in exclusive agreements. These agreements have contributed to the opening up of the outsourced ticket distribution market to competition,’ said Tembinkosi Bonakele, Competition Commissioner.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
