April 2024
Oli Wong and Andrew Huang
In Taiwan, attending sports events and other activities has become popular. To maintain the proper distribution of tickets for these events and curb ticket scalping, the Sports Administration of Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Sports Industry Development Act (hereinafter the “Act”), promulgated the “Regulations Governing Handling of and Incentives for Reporting Violations of Ticketing Regulations for Sports Competitions and Activities” on February 29, 2024 (hereinafter the “Regulations”). The Regulations came into effect on January 5, 2024. The brief introduction to the Regulations is as follows:
I. Applicable Cases
The types of cases applicable to the Regulations include: (i) selling publicly available sports event or other activity tickets at prices exceeding their face value, or pricing sports event or activities tickets without a face value for sale (commonly known as selling scalped tickets at markup prices; Paragraph 2, Article 24-1 of the Act), and (ii) using a computer or other related equipment with false information or through other improper means to obtain ticket booking or ticket vouchers (Paragraph 3, Article 24-1 of the Act).
II. Reporting Process
The informant may file a report in writing, verbally, via email, or by any other means (Article 3 of the Regulations). Depending on the type of report, whether it is (i) selling tickets at a markup price (i.e., ticket scalping, as stipulated in Paragraph 2, Article 24-1 of the Act), or (ii) obtaining tickets through false information or improper means (Paragraph 3, Article 24-1 of the Act), the information the informant is required to provide under the Regulations may vary (see Articles 4 &5 of the Regulations for details).
If the informant does not provide all the required information as outlined in the Regulations in the report, and either (i) such information cannot be supplemented or corrected, or (ii) the informant fails to complete such supplement or correction within the specified period, the competent authority will not accept the report (Article 6 of the Regulations). Additionally, if the informant does not report with their real name or fails to provide sufficient identity verification documents, and if they do not correct it within the deadline specified by the competent authority, they will not be eligible to receive the reward (Article 7 of the Regulations).
III. Processing Period
After accepting the reported cases, the competent authority should complete the investigation within two (2) months from the date when the informant has provided all required information. However, if there is a necessity for an extension of the investigation due to special circumstances, the limitation of the two-month processing period shall not apply (Article 8 of the Regulations).
IV. Informant Reward
If the reported case is found to be true after investigation, the competent authority will issue a reward to the informant. However, rewards shall not be issued in the following circumstances: (i) the case has been previously disclosed in the internet, newspapers, magazines, broadcast media, or other forms of media, or has already been investigated or addressed by relevant authorities; or (ii) the case was discovered by a public servant while performing official duties (Article 9 of the Regulations).
The reward for reporting shall be determined by the competent authority when the administrative penalty decision has been served or the criminal case has been transferred to the prosecutor’s office. The informant will then receive the reward after being notified by the competent authority. The criteria for awarding the informant reward are as shown in the table below (Article 10 of the Regulations):
| Type of the Report | Reward |
| Reselling Tickets at a Markup Price (Ticket Scalping) | Equivalent to 20% of the imposed fine, with a maximum limit of NTD100,000. |
| Obtaining Tickets Through False Information or Improper Means | NTD100,000 |
The competent authority shall deem the informant ineligible for reward if: (i) the informant is convicted of false accusation by a court; (ii) the informant is convicted of using forged or altered evidence by a court; (iii) the informant is found to have jointly participated in the reported case; (iv) the reported case has been publicly disclosed prior to the report, or has already been investigated by relevant authorities, or discovered by a public servant while performing official duties; or (v) the reported unlawful behavior results in a decision of non-prosecution, acquittal, or the withdrawal or revocation of the relevant administrative sanction. For rewards already issued, the competent authority shall revoke the administrative sanction of the reward and issue a written administrative sanction to recovery it from the informant or their heirs (Article 11 of the Regulations).
V. Personal Data Protection
To safeguard the safety and rights of the informant, unless the informant agrees to disclose, the competent authority has an obligation to maintain confidentiality regarding the informant’s name, age, residence, identity, and other relevant information sufficient to identify their characteristics (Article 13 of the Regulations).
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