UK Offence Report

3 It is an offence for a person to— a use software that is designed to enable or facilitate completion of…

regulation 3 of The Breaching of Limits on Ticket Sales Regulations 2018

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

3 It is an offence for

a person to—

a use software that is designed to enable or facilitate completion of any part of

a process within regulation 2(b); and

b do so with intent to obtain tickets in excess of the sales limit, with

a view to any person obtaining financial gain.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
breaching the provision
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (with intent to).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: with intent to.

What would breach regulation 3?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Breaching of Limits on Ticket Sales Regulations 2018.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
£50,000
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
14 June 2018
In force from
Not determined
Extent
E+W+S

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations provide for a criminal offence of purchasing tickets for a recreational, sporting or cultural event in excess of conditions setting a maximum number of tickets that a purchaser may buy. Regulation 2 provides that these Regulations apply where: (a) tickets for a recreational, sporting or cultural event in the United Kingdom are offered for sale; (b) a purchase may be made by a process that the purchaser completes using an electronic communications service or network; and (c) the offer is subject to conditions limiting the number of tickets a purchaser may buy (“the sales limit”). Regulation 3 provides that it is an offence for a person to use software which is designed to enable or facilitate completion of any part of the process, with intent to obtain tickets in excess of the sales limit and with a view to any person obtaining financial gain. Regulation 4 provides that the offence is committed whether the offer of tickets is made or anything is done to obtain the tickets, in or outside the United Kingdom. Regulation 5 makes provision in relation to the prosecution of, and penalties for, the offence. These Regulations were notified in draft (Notification No. 2017/0575/UK on 12/12/17) to the European Commission in accordance withDirective (EU) 2015/1535of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 241, 17.9.2015, p.1) which lays down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services. An Impact Assessment has not been produced as no, or no significant, impact on the private sector or civil society organisations is foreseen.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source