{"id":329550,"date":"2026-05-05T13:37:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T08:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=329550"},"modified":"2026-05-05T13:37:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T08:07:06","slug":"ontario-law-frustrates-season-ticket-holders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/ontario-law-frustrates-season-ticket-holders\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario law frustrates season ticket holders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>TORONTO \u2013 Ryan Van Horne has had season tickets for the Toronto Raptors for 12 years but for the primary time, he\u2019s considering ending his streak.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because Ontario laws that got here into effect last month capped the value of resale tickets at face value, plus the price of some taxes and repair fees.<\/p>\n<p>The move makes it harder for seat holders, like Van Horne and a pal he shares his subscription with, to offset their costs by selling tickets to games they&#8217;ll\u2019t attend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve told my friend I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll proceed with it,\u201d said Van Horne, who pays his share of just about $5,000 a 12 months for 2 aisle seats within the eighth row of Scotiabank Arena\u2019s 300 level.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot that this was a for-profit thing, however the break-even makes absolutely no sense to me now.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad c-ad--tallSticky\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Van Horne\u2019s dilemma offers a window into the complications fans and a few of Canada\u2019s most lucrative sporting franchises face as recent laws reshapes the playing field for ticket resales.<\/p>\n<p>Up until recently, season seat holders have been capable of off-load tickets for any price the market can pay. While some turned that flexibility into full-out businesses, profiting off their ability to snag seats to the most popular matches after which flip them for even extra cash, many say they subscribed purely for his or her love of the sport. They are saying they resell tickets only due to how demanding a team\u2019s game schedule will be and the way expensive seats have develop into.<\/p>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"related_videos\">\n<div class=\"l-inlineStories l-inlineStories--video\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"l-inlineStories__title\">Related Videos<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<section id=\"miniplayer-carousel\" class=\"l-videoCarousel l-videoCarousel--embed c-carousel\" data-video-carousel-play-inline=\"true\" data-video-carousel-init=\"false\" aria-label=\"Video carousel contains 10 videos.\">\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__inner\">\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__featured\">\n<div class=\"c-video c-videoPlay \" data-iframe-receiver=\"\" data-autoplay=\"\" data-displayinline-featured=\"true\" data-displayinline-type=\"video\" data-displayinline-player-id=\"miniplayer\" data-displayinline-video-id=\"11825789\" data-displayinline-ratio=\"16:9\" data-displayinline=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/video\/embed\/playlist\/11825789,11811263,11806034,11736470,11520120,11519608,11499192,11272226,11267415,11265148\/?poster=https%3A%2F%2Fi0.wp.com%2Fmedia.globalnews.ca%2Fvideostatic%2Fnews%2Fwv28i7p5ns-6q7q8t8jh8%2FONLINEGNMFRIDANBERLINSTILL.jpg%3Fw%3D1200%26quality%3D70%26strip%3Dall#autoplay&#038;stickyiframe=miniplayer\" data-displayinline-playlist=\"11825789,11811263,11806034,11736470,11520120,11519608,11499192,11272226,11267415,11265148\" data-displayinline-sticky=\"true\" data-permutive-data='{\"content\":{\"name\":\"Canadian teams continue battling through the playoffs\",\"type\":\"video\",\"sections\":[\"videos\",\"toronto\",\"sports\"],\"keywords\":[\"canadian-sports\",\"connor-mcdavid\",\"dan-berlin\",\"edmonton-oilers\",\"global-news-morning\",\"montreal-canadiens\",\"nba\",\"nhl\",\"playoffs\",\"scotty-barnes\",\"short-clip\",\"toronto-raptors\",\"global-news-morning-toronto\"],\"iab\":{\"categories\":[\"Shopping\",\"Sports\",\"Sports\/Team Sports\"],\"tags\":[\"Aisle\",\"Arena\",\"Baseball\",\"Basketball\",\"Break-even\",\"Canada\",\"Canadian Premier League\",\"Cash\",\"Cost\",\"Email\",\"Face value\",\"Fee\",\"Legislation\",\"Maple Leaf (train)\",\"Maple Leaf Sports &#038; Entertainment\",\"Money\",\"National Basketball Association\",\"Ontario\",\"Paul Beirne\",\"Philadelphia\",\"Philadelphia 76ers\",\"Playoffs\",\"Policy\",\"Price\",\"Real estate\",\"Scotiabank\",\"Scotiabank Arena\",\"Season ticket\",\"Subscription business model\",\"The Canadian Press\",\"Ticket resale\",\"Toronto\",\"Toronto Blue Jays\",\"Toronto FC\",\"Toronto Maple Leafs\",\"Toronto Raptors\",\"Toronto Tempo\"]}}}'>\n<div class=\"c-video__inner \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__placeholder\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Canadian teams continue battling through the playoffs'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/wv28i7p5ns-6q7q8t8jh8\/ONLINEGNMFRIDANBERLINSTILL.jpg?w=1040&#038;quality=70&#038;strip=all\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"auto, \" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1040px) 1040px,(min-width: 720px) 720px,450px\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__overlay\"><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"c-video__duration\">5:19<\/time><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__title\">Canadian teams proceed battling through the playoffs<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__glide glide \">\n<div class=\"glide__arrows c-carousel__buttons l-videoCarousel__buttons\" data-glide-el=\"controls\">\n\t<button class=\"glide__arrow glide__arrow--left c-carousel__button c-carousel__prev l-videoCarousel__button l-videoCarousel__prev c-longform-gallery__prev\" data-glide-dir=\"<\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Previous Video<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t<button class=\"glide__arrow glide__arrow--right c-carousel__button c-carousel__next l-videoCarousel__button l-videoCarousel__next c-longform-gallery__next\" data-glide-dir=\">&#8220;><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Next Video<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t<button class=\"c-carousel__goto\" data-glide-dir=\"=0\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><\/button>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t<!-- video stream item --><\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWhether it\u2019s the time or money, or each, they&#8217;ll\u2019t afford to go to all these games,\u201d said Paul Beirne, a sports business consultant who has held senior positions at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and was once president of the Canadian Premier League.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad c-ad--tallSticky\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Baseball seasons, for instance, now stretch beyond 160 games, so it\u2019s comprehensible that the typical person often can\u2019t make it to the 80 or so hosted at home.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup\" data-newsletter-inline=\"\">\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg\" alt=\"Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story.\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__content\">\n<h2 class=\"c-inlineSignup__title\">Get breaking National news<\/h2>\n<p>Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox because it happens so you will not miss a trending story.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Others bought their season seats years ago, but the value has grown so steeply that the one way they&#8217;ll afford to proceed is by selling among the tickets.<\/p>\n<p>Some tickets sell below face value, but anything over the unique price helps chip away at resale service fees and covers among the subscription.<\/p>\n<p>The brand new cap will force season seat holders to let their tickets go for not more than face value or consider riskier, unprotected sales on social media platforms or outside venues.<\/p>\n<p>Asked in regards to the predicament, a spokesperson for Ontario Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery Stephen Crawford said in an email that the province is making it \u201ceasier and cheaper for families to attend concert events, cultural events and sporting events.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Giulia Paikin also said the brand new laws applies \u201cequally\u201d to all resale platforms. The province is running a public consultation on the policy until May 10.<\/p>\n<p>Sho Kalache, a season ticket holder with the Toronto Tempo women\u2019s basketball team, felt the brunt of the laws almost immediately.<\/p>\n<p>When a friend offered Kalache access to her box for a game and work commitments cropped up conflicting with others, she listed her seats for some matches. They were taken down days before the team\u2019s inaugural game, when the platform she listed them on removed seats on an interim basis to bring their systems into compliance with the brand new laws.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad c-ad--tallSticky\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t attempting to earn money. I just wanted to interrupt even on those that I can\u2019t go to,\u201d Kalache said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-tabs\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab c-tabs__tab--active\" type=\"button\">More on Sports<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab\" type=\"button\">More videos<\/button>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>She\u2019s resorting to gifting away tickets through her wife\u2019s real estate business but isn\u2019t pleased with that alternative since it\u2019s time consuming and she will be able to\u2019t guarantee they\u2019ll go to a fan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s somewhat frustrating because the convenience of off-loading tickets is gone,\u201d Kalache said.<\/p>\n<p>Many leagues and platforms are still figuring out the way to allow season seat holders to post tickets while complying with the laws.<\/p>\n<p>Raptors, Leafs and Toronto FC owner MLSE and the Toronto Blue Jays said last week that they&#8217;re working with the federal government and may have an update soon.<\/p>\n<p>Beirne called the laws \u201ca blunt force\u201d that can \u201cpenalize normal behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey decide to charge more for some games and charge less for other games because that\u2019s the character. Some games are more attractive than others,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut should you cap every part the identical, you risk making season tickets less flexible, less attractive, and that ultimately hurts the teams and the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Van Horne, who not only renewed his Raptors seats but in addition bought a season of tickets to the Tempo before the laws was mentioned by the federal government, worked out that his Raptors seats cost him about $100 per game.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad c-ad--tallSticky\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Typically, he and his friend each laid claim to the games they wanted after which offered the rest to family and friends to \u201cget well my costs and somewhat more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Attending all of them is unthinkable. He lives outside town now and has family obligations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnless people have a very good network, a bunch of half a dozen friends and so they\u2019re splitting this all \u2026 they could be asking themselves, is all this extra burden now price it?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2026.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t&#038;copy 2026 The Canadian Press\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TORONTO \u2013 Ryan Van Horne has had season tickets for the Toronto Raptors for 12 years but for the primary time, he\u2019s considering ending his streak. That\u2019s because Ontario laws that got here into effect last month capped the value of resale tickets at face value, plus the price of some taxes and repair fees. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":329551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[51368,25599,1814,20264,726,8501],"class_list":["post-329550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-frustrates","tag-holders","tag-law","tag-ontario","tag-season","tag-ticket"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329550"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":329553,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329550\/revisions\/329553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}