This week, I was attending INTIX 2019, The International Ticketing Association Conference, in my role as US CEO of SecuTix, the leading white-label ticketing engagement platform.
We introduced a new App called “TIXnGO” which allows any venue or organizers, regardless of its ticketing platform, to “inject” ticket in the blockchain.
What is blockchain?
The simplest way I can describe the blockchain is the following: imagine that 1,000 computers all over the world are sending one piece of information together and at the same time. The chain of information sent by those computers is the blockchain.
Now, imagine you want to hack that. You would need to hack 1,000 computers all over the world and at the same time. Not happening anytime soon.
Now, imagine you have a ticket for an event that you want to sell to me. I’m concerned about two things: first, I want to be 100% sure that you are the legal owner of this ticket and second, I want the entire market to know that at the second I pay you, the ticket is now mine.
If your ticket has been through the blockchain and has this chain of information attached to it, my two concerns disappear. And there is even more to that: as it is a smart contract, venues and organizers can set the rules like, for instance, nobody can resell the ticket at more than the face value.
Why should Meetings and Events Planners care about it?
We should care because our customers are fed up of the bots or third parties which are buying as many tickets as possible and forcing them to pay a totally unjustified premium.
We should care because our customers want to be sure they are buying a real ticket.
Imagine arriving with your families at a show you have been talking about for months and then being told that one or all of your tickets are a duplicate and can’t be used. Try to explain that to your crying children in front of the entrance!
We should care because sports teams and artists want to be sure that their biggest fans are actually allowed to buy tickets at a regular price and that they can put a cap on the reselling price.
We should care because venues, stadiums or organizers want to be sure they know who is coming to their building and keep at bay those who are forbidden to.
We should care because fans want to be able to print a souvenir ticket at home, but they prefer to go to the event with just their smartphone, without worrying about losing a piece of paper or finding a printer.
We should care because, whether we like it or not, security is not optional and we need to secure our venues as much as we can.
We should care because we all want to increase our revenues while attracting a larger audience and engaging better with our fans.
We should also care because some of those changes, although happening thousands of miles away from The Gaylord Texan, can have a potential impact on all of us in this room.
Yes, I’m referring to the infamous GDPR.
Two weeks ago, Marriott learned that GDPR could add, up to $915 million to their data breach expenses, and last week, the French data privacy’s watchdog fined Google $57 million under the new European data privacy.
Not sure if you are selling tickets to European residents but you might want to check if your system is GDPR compliant …
Technology is evolving, and blockchain is going to be implemented in many different fields.
Enjoy the ride!
Please share in the comments below what has your experience been with event ticket security and what your concerns are.
