A law adopted by the Russian State Duma states that ticket scalpers of the 2014 Winter Olympics "could be fined" up to 1M rubles ($33,000), according to XINHUA. Ticket prices for all sports events to be held in the city of Sochi "have been set by the Russian government" in coordination with the IOC and Int'l Paralympic Committee. Ticket touts will pay from 10 to 20 times a ticket's face value but no less than 50,000 rubles ($1,600). Companies caught reselling the tickets will be fined up to 1M rubles and "their business activities could be terminated for up to 90 days." The law will go into effect on Jan. 15 (XINHUA, 12/20).
IN RETROSPECT...: In London, Jacquelin Magnay reported London Olympics organizers "have been forced to admit publishing incorrect figures after releasing a breakdown of official Olympic ticket sales." Following two years of "intense pressure from the London Assembly to detail the session by session break-up of Olympic ticket sales to the public," LOCOG released a 950-page report on Tuesday. It was "uploaded on to its website without any press release or prior warning" (TELEGRAPH, 12/19). In London, Magnay also wrote sports considered to be supported "by the well-heeled, such as equestrian eventing, modern pentathlon and sailing, were the biggest losers under the London 2012 Olympic Games ticket pricing" (TELEGRAPH, 12/20).
