The mission of .TICKETS is to create a safe, secure & trusted global domain environment for online ticket sales, marketing, & promotions which is free from fraudulent activity.Fraudulent & deceptive activity includes the sale of fake or non-existent tickets, phishing, malware & other malicious attacks & the collection of personal details for sale to third parties.
.TICKETS websites & services will be trusted by consumers, supported by the global industries that use tickets & ticket services & relevant industry bodies, promoted by credit card providers, welcomed by consumer protection organisations & endorsed by law enforcement agencies. The .TICKETS TLD will be the cornerstone of a much-needed structural solution to a global multi-million dollar problem, providing a solution that transcends national legislative frameworks.
We will achieve our mission by:
- Creating a gated space for trusted, authentic ticket selling & other ticketing services by validating all registrants of second level domains in the .TICKETS namespace against a published set of eligibility criteria developed by sector specific industry and other bodies
- Monitoring & controlling the use & transfer of second level domains within & between eligible registrants
- Developing meaningful strategies & partnerships (with industry bodies, credit card companies, consumer protection organisations & law enforcement agencies) to provide the consumer education & awareness programme which will ensure that over time, Internet users requiring tickets or ticketing services will seek out only websites that use the .TICKETS domain. Consumers will trust that a .TICKETS domain will take them to authentic ticket vendors & service providers.
Background and context:
Despite the existence of major ticket service brands operating with strong consumer awareness, online ticket fraud is a multi-million dollar global industry. It occurs when victims purchase tickets for, for e.g, a music, sport, theatre or other activity (e.g air or other travel,gaming & lotteries) which are either counterfeit or do not materialise.These “tickets” are purchased from fake ticketing websites & through online auction & shopping sites.Fake websites arenʹt always easy to spot & criminals invest heavily in making them look legitimate & very professional. Furthermore, contrary to popular belief the presence of HTTPS does not necessarily means that a website is secure & not being used for fraudulent purposes.As users become more fraud-aware, online scammers are making increasing efforts to trick consumers into visiting fake ticketing websites.
Online ticket fraud is a growing global problem & one that is increasingly associated with worldwide organised crime. In the UK alone, ticket fraud in the sporting & entertainment industries costs consumers, credit card providers, and event organisers over US$264M per year in fraudulent transactions (Source: UK Home Office figures)& research carried out in September 2009 by the UK Office of Fair Trading identified that 1 in 5 people know of someone who has bought “tickets” from a fake ticketing website. In the airline industry, 0.9% of global online airline ticket sales were lost to online fraud in 2010 amounting to US$1.4BN.The global challenge of online ticketing fraud extends to major global sporting events such as the Olympics. For e.g a fraudulent ticketing site www.beijingticketing.com sold over USD$50M of non-existent tickets. Interpol president Khoo Boon Hui said in May 2012 that organised international gangs are behind most Internet scams & that the estimated cost of cybercrime is more than that of cocaine, heroin & marijuana trafficking combined. The impact of online ticket fraud transcends unwitting consumers who buy fake or non-existent tickets. The knock-on effects are felt by many others, including brand owners (as domain names for websites often contain strings associated with them), entertainment venue & ticket collection outlets (who are faced with consumers arriving to collect non-existent tickets), credit card companies (who can suffer charge-backs where this consumer protection applies) & event organisers (who may endure charge-back costs assessed against them by their payment providers). In addition to online ticket fraud, fake ticketing sites may also put consumers at risk from phishing, malware & other malicious attacks. Also, personal information, such as credit card details, collected from fake ticketing sites may be sold on to third parties.
Our goals & objectives:
1. Enhance consumer protection by providing a safe & secure global domain space for tickets - by creating a gated space available for authentic ticket sellers, marketers and promoters which has strict entry requirements (eligibility criteria), strictly policed and enforced & with ongoing compliance monitoring.
2. Allow Internet users to easily & unmistakably identify trusted ticketing websites (for example, “For safety guaranteed, look for .TICKETS in the URL”) & raise consumer awareness by educating the public - which will be achieved through implementing a comprehensive & carefully researched marketing plan which will maximise awareness of the .TICKETS domain space.
3. Continue to build coalition partnerships & further develop our reputation as representing the interests, & acting as a trusted partner, of the global ticketing industries, ensuring that our policies & operations are technically excellent & fit for purpose, relevant & not unduly burdensome.
4. Operate the .TICKETS Registry impartially, responsibly & with integrity so as to promote a fair marketplace for the ticketing industry - through developing fair & transparent eligibility criteria & procedures for multiple application & dispute resolution, which will be sub-sector specific & developed in conjunction with relevant industry bodies.
5. Promote the Internet as a trusted global resource & contribute positively to the evolution of the domain name system.
6. Ensure the .TICKETS Registry is operated by an organisation with strong financial viability & longevity, supported by sound business practices & good governance, with strong management that has appropriate breadth & depth of experience.
Accent Media will involve the ticketing industry in developing the policies it will apply to the .TICKETS domain. In so doing, it will create a policy-making procedure that balances the participation of members of the ticketing industry with consultation and advice from consumer groups and others, such as law enforcement agencies. An advisory board will be convened for each industry sub-sector. The Registry shall appoint a policy officer who shall be responsible for assisting, drafting & revising all policies in liaison with the advisory boards. The advisory boards’ recommendations shall be delivered to the Registry’s executive committee for approval.
Summary: Our proposal for the .TICKETS domain space will promote diversification of the TLD namespace by introducing an innovative model that has safety and security at its core; in so doing playing its part in enhancing trust in the Internet. We will contribute to increasing competition in domain registration services through the independent operation of a TLD namespace that shall be accessible to businesses serving the global ticketing industry, rather than reserved for any single entity. At the heart of our business model will be our alliances with a wide range of stakeholders within both the private & public sectors and with whom we shall partner in developing fair & transparent policies that promote competition in the ticketing marketplace alongside consumer protection standards. We shall protect & promote the interests of consumers by creating a safe & secure environment for online ticket sales, marketing, & promotions which is free from fraudulent activity, promoted through global marketing & educational campaigns conducted in conjunction with our alliance partners. |