A British cricket club has brought the sport very much into the 2020s by implementing a blockchain-powered ticketing system. Lancashire Cricket, based in English cricket’s northern heartland, will use distributed ledger technology from TIXnGO to ticket both domestic and international games at Emirates Old Trafford, starting this year.
Movement to Online Purchases Prompts Change
Lancashire Cricket made the decision following an overwhelming preference towards buying tickets online in recent years, and chose to expand into blockchain technology because it eradicates the risk of genuine supporters not getting the tickets and ensures that fake tickets are not accidentally accepted. This gives Lancashire Cricket more control over who gets into the ground and makes sure that fans aren’t missing out.
Lancashire Cricket’s Head of Ticketing and Digital Systems, Jonathan Nuttall, explained the reasons for the move towards blockchain:
During the 2019 season, over 80 percent of tickets bought at Emirates Old Trafford have been made online, compared to less than 50 percent in 2018, so it’s vitally important that we continue to improve the digital ticketing technologies to ensure we make things as easy, and as enjoyable, as possible.
TIXnGO created a unique encrypted ticket on a customer’s smartphone that is 100% traceable, ensuring that fraudulent tickets will not be accepted, and also offers an authenticated reselling platform.
Ticketing Ticks the Boxes for Blockchain
Ticketing is one of blockchain’s best use cases and, as this development shows, the technology is ready to go right now. Indeed, blockchain has already been used in showpiece sports events like the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia, where a successful trial encouraged UEFA to expand its use into the 2020 European Championships.
Given that internet-based bookings and mobile tickets are rapidly replacing in-person purchases and paper tickets, it’s no surprise that ticketing systems using blockchain technology are suddenly making waves. There is a chance for the right company to really make a name for itself in the space within the next few years and become the go-to app for authentic, fraud-free blockchain ticketing solutions.
