Should scalping video game consoles be illegal? A group of lawmakers in the UK thinks so.
On Monday, six UK Parliament members made a push to outlaw reselling consoles and components at exorbitant prices. Specifically, they’re calling on the government to advance legislative proposals designed to crack down on the scalping.
“New releases of gaming consoles and computer components should be available to all customers at no more than the Manufacturer’s Recommended Retail Price,” reads the motion from the six Scottish National Party members.
The same motion also condemns the scalpers' automated bots for snatching up video game consoles from major retailers, thereby depleting the available stock. As a result, the Scottish National Party members also want to explore “making the resale of goods purchased using an automated bot an illegal activity.”
The motion currently has the support of 24 UK Parliament members. But as VGC points out, it merely calls on the government to formally debate the topic. So we’ll have to wait and see if the UK will produce any real legislation.
In the meantime, scalpers in the US appear to be raking in huge profits from the resale of the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X. One study estimates scalpers on eBay have so far sold over 32,000 units of the PS5 for two to three times the console's normal price.
On Tuesday, Walmart also called on US lawmakers to pass legislation cracking down on automated bots. Currently, the US only has a law against the resale of tickets for commercial events that’ve been purchased using bot technology.