Hong Kong Sports App Identifies Bot Bookers, Prompts Calls for Stronger Touting Rules
- tech360.tv
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Hong Kong authorities have detected robot-operated accounts booking public indoor sports venues on the SmartPLAY app. This discovery occurred just a week after a new anti-touting policy took effect, prompting experts to call for stronger measures against scalping.
An LCSD spokesman confirmed authorities identified bots booking public indoor sports venues on the SmartPLAY app. He stated the department found "accounts using different means, computer programs or other automated tools to conduct booking transactions or disrupt normal operations on SmartPLAY". The spokesman added the department was "proactively handling these cases to tackle users who tout bookings".
The department did not disclose the number of identified accounts or its detection methods. This information was withheld to prevent scalpers from evading the crackdown.
Measures to curb rampant touting at indoor basketball and volleyball courts were introduced since Jan. 21. These include a 360-day booking ban without prior notice for accounts found using computer programs or other automated tools.
Other new rules require bookers to provide details of two other users, with one needing to show up on the day. The department also revoked the "standby" arrangement for these courts.
A spokesman explained in a public notice last December that "certain hirers of indoor basketball and volleyball courts deliberately skip booked sessions". These individuals were "suspected of engaging in touting by arranging for other users to claim booked courts via the standby arrangement".
Another department spokesman reported that residents generally welcomed the new measures. However, a regular hirer and an IT expert suggested additional administrative steps were necessary, noting the high demand for venues.
Francis Fong Po-kiu, honorary president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, suggested SmartPLAY administrators could detect booking patterns indicating automated tool use. Such anomalies include unusually high booking speeds and users skipping multiple registration pages.
Fong noted "these applications will not [spend time] picking a date and time, but can quickly input everything via a script specifying which show they would like to buy." He added that automated tools follow "fixed scripts rather than adapting to circumstances," leading to repetitive booking behaviour.
Fong also indicated that touting syndicates could hire individuals to make bookings. These syndicates often have a higher number of devices and accounts available than an ordinary hirer.
The expert believed revoking the standby arrangement would help curb syndicates' use of manpower to monopolise venues. However, he warned that touting would likely persist, as scalpers could still profit by reselling sports venue bookings at high prices. Fong suggested the government "make touting more costly, leaving little profit for scalpers".
Using another person’s identity card to check in at a venue is illegal. In Jan. 2024, a man who used another person’s ID card for a tennis court check-in and another man who lent his card were each sentenced to 80 hours of community service.
Keith Rumjahn, founder of a fitness and sports apps company, offered mixed views on the new anti-touting policies. He had not attempted to use his automated booking agent on SmartPLAY last week for fear of being banned.
Rumjahn believed the bot ban and related measures were merely "short-term solutions." He predicted that "within six to 12 months, scalpers would find new ways to cheat the system," adding, "it would not take long before things return to how they were, when booking courts was difficult and scalpers resold slots at a premium."
While Rumjahn agreed the measures might free up some additional booking slots, he expected overall demand for scalped reservations to remain strong. Prime slots on weekday evenings and weekends would still be highly sought after, leaving players with continued incentives to buy from scalpers.
Beyond scalpers, Rumjahn noted that professional leagues and full-time coaches also compete with leisure players for public courts. Their high demand or income depends on regular access to facilities. He stated, "in an ideal world, if scalpers were eliminated and every one of them caught, coaches and leagues would still book up [the courts]".
Hong Kong authorities detected robot-operated accounts on the SmartPLAY app shortly after new anti-touting policies were implemented.
New measures include a 360-day booking ban for automated tool users and requiring bookers to bring an accompanying user.
Experts suggest further administrative steps are needed, as touting may persist despite the current rules.
Source: SCMP
