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Ticket fraud is not a marginal issue. It erodes public trust, costs organizers money, and undermines the relationship between artists and fans. Secure ticketing offers a strong alternative, built on control, transparency, and technological security. We spoke with Ticketmatic CEO Eric Lesire about how the company is addressing this problem and what organizers stand to gain.
It is, at last, a fundamental solution to the black market — not through new rules, but with technology that truly works.
-- Erik Lesire
--- Founder & CEO, ticketmatic
When tickets lock people out
If you sell tickets for popular events, you know the risks: where demand is high and supply is limited, abuse follows. Fake tickets. Resale at extortionate prices. Fans left standing outside with counterfeit tickets in hand. Organizers lose control of their sales and miss out on valuable audience data. Performers see how their fans are being deceived.
Ticketmatic decided to take action, responding to signals from the field and growing pressure on organizers. “I remember Tom Waits at the Bourla,” recalls Erik. “Demand was a hundred times greater than supply. The organizers were stuck. In the end, they checked IDs at the door — something that isn’t even allowed — but they saw no other way out.”
The problem escalates just as easily at children’s shows. “We heard from mothers with children turned away at the door of a kids’ performance — all holding the same ticket with the same barcode. Tears. No entry.” Artists, too, apply pressure: “Nick Cave at De Roma, for example — he wanted to perform, but only if active measures were taken against black market resales.”
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A technical answer instead of more rules
While many venues respond with restrictions, such as delivering tickets at the last minute or limiting the number of tickets per order, ticketmatic chose a different path: secure smart ticketing. “As long as you work with a PDF ticket or a fixed barcode, your ticketing remains vulnerable,” says Erik. “So we built a system where the QR code refreshes every 30 seconds. That barcode lives inside the app — it can’t be shared or copied. And the organizer knows exactly which device the ticket is on.”
Tickets are valid only on the device where they were delivered. Transfers are possible only through the official app, and only if the organizer allows it. This makes abuse via resale platforms nearly impossible. On top of that, Ticketmatic provides a back-end risk analysis: organizers can see if a device or user is behaving suspiciously — for example, a brand-new account suddenly requesting five tickets. In such cases, they can require manual verification.
Applicable for those at risk
“We don’t want to make things harder than they need to be,” emphasizes Erik. Not every venue or show requires these measures. “But as soon as demand exceeds supply, gray or black markets emerge. It can happen even in smaller cultural centers — if they suddenly book a big name.”
In those cases, secure ticketing is an easy option to activate, with no impact on the user experience, as long as visitors use a smartphone. And it works. “Ahoy Rotterdam, André Hazes Jr., more than 10,000 people, an older audience, all on secure tickets, flawless,” says Erik. “And the big theaters are also heavy users. That’s exactly where it works.”
“A handful of people come to the counter because their phone isn’t working. They immediately receive their ticket, and that’s it. But no one shows up with a fake ticket. No extortionate resale. No abuse.”
How does it work in concrete terms?
The technology is built into the ticketmatic app (which already has half a million users today). Tickets end up in a digital wallet, exclusively on the buyer's device. The QR code changes continuously and cannot be copied.
Organizers can:
- Track which device is on which a ticket is
- View how many times a ticket was transferred
- Estimate whether a user is trustworthy
- Manually check in case of suspicious behavior
And that at no additional cost: secure ticketing is included in the platform.
More than just safety
Secure ticketing is also a way to safeguard values. “Our customers — cultural venues — want tickets to remain accessible to everyone. They set a fair price and want to maintain it,” says Erik.
The system also brings additional benefits. “With traditional reselling, you don’t know who is coming through the door,” Erik explains. “With secure tickets, you preserve the relationship with your audience. You know who your visitors are. You protect them — and at the same time, your data and your communication.”
A sustainable solution to a real problem
“We didn't build this as a gimmick,” says Erik. “It fits perfectly with our mission: empower organisers, protect the public. Usage is rising, and so is the number of app users. And the technology is robust.”
We've solved a real problem in a way that suits our sector. For cultural houses, artists and their audience.
-- Erik Lesire
--- Founder & CEO, ticketmatic
Learn more about the ticketmatic app here
More questions about secure tickets? Get in touch here
