17-06-2025
Irish law brought in four years ago makes task tougher to secure NFL tickets
With hundreds of thousands of fans left disappointed on Tuesday afternoon after being unable to secure tickets for the first ever regular season NFL game in Dublin, it became apparent that the task of securing tickets became harder due to a ticket touting law brought in back in July 2021.
Some 600,000-plus American Football fans were in the virtual queue hoping to grab a ticket to the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings at GAA HQ, but chances of nabbing a golden ticket are significantly lower due to the lack of secondary ticket sale sites in Ireland.
Since July 31, 2021, it has been illegal to sell tickets for live events in designated venues over face value under the Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) Act 2021. The bill states that those found ticket touting can face up to two years in prison and a €100,000 fine.
As a consequence of the bill, a number of prominent ticket exchange and resale sites operate at a very small scale in Ireland, with very few events listed in Ireland, as prices over face value would be deemed in breach of the law.
The Irish Mirror viewed several of the prominent ticket reseller sites and found that tickets for the NFL Dublin game were not listed for sale while tickets for the other six NFL International games were available to purchase (with the exception of the NFL Madrid game, which has not gone on sale yet).
With events such as the NFL, dynamic pricing and ticket resellers are usually seen as a tactic for American Football fans to secure tickets for matches, with fans monitoring resale sites for ticket sales to drop. However, it appears likely that the NFL Dublin game will not be listed on any major reseller, which means fans will find it difficult to secure tickets for the September 28 clash.
Croke Park will be able to accommodate 75,000 fans for the game, with Hill 16 set to be seated.
