Scotland halts Six Nations ticket sales amid ‘bot attack’ chaos – Scottish Business News

The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) has abruptly suspended ticket sales for the upcoming Six Nations tournament due to a suspected bot attack on their ticketing system.

This unexpected move has left rugby fans in limbo and raised concerns about the integrity of the ticket purchasing process.

The public sale, originally scheduled for today has been postponed as officials investigate the issue.

The SRU made this decision after detecting unusual activity that suggested automated programs were attempting to mass-purchase tickets, potentially to resell them at inflated prices.

A rugby enthusiast who received an email from the SRU shared: “Ticket sales have been stopped due to a suspected bot attack. It means the public sale has been delayed and will not take place tomorrow.”

The situation has left many fans who successfully purchased tickets earlier in the week anxious about the status of their bookings. One supporter expressed his concern, saying: “I’ve got tickets for all three games. Spent an hour and a half queuing on the website Monday and today to get them so I’ll be fuming if I have to do it again.”

Another fan offered a more optimistic interpretation: “I interpreted it as they’re going to review the sales made to try and make sure they were purchased by genuine fans. I’d be very surprised if they revoked every ticket/removed them from accounts.”

A statement from Scottish Rugby, the game’s governing body, issued to supporters said: “Tomorrow’s scheduled public sale of Guinness Men’s Six Nations tickets (Friday 6 December) has been postponed, as we believe this week’s Supporters Club pre-sales were targeted by a bot attack.

“Scottish Rugby is committed to ensuring Scotland match tickets are purchased by genuine fans and we are working closely with Ticketmaster to review this week’s sales and identify any suspicious activity. We will provide a further update next week with a revised schedule of sale dates for these games. (Note: the pre-sale of U20 match tickets, scheduled for Monday 9 December, and the general sale on Tuesday 10 December, will also be re-scheduled.)”

This incident highlights the ongoing challenges sports organisations face in ensuring fair access to high-demand events in the digital age.