Officer John Boyle says in October 11th’s DFP that scalping tickets is an arrestable offence.
Scalping tickets is illegal for several reasons. It deprives individuals the opportunity to buy tickets at face value (as high as it already is at Fenway). If scalpers buy tickets with the intention of reselling them for profit, that deprives the Red Sox organisation of possible profit. The practice also does lend itself to counterfit fraud, and while reportedly rare around Fenway, it does happen.
If, as Officer Boyle states, that scalping tickets is an arrestable offence, then the fault is with the Boston Police department for not enforcing a simple rule. It sends the message that if this law can be ignored, others can be as well. The fault is also with the Red Sox organisation for failure to put pressure on the BPD to crack down on scalpers.
The Red Sox and the BPD should ensure that the only place to buy a ticket is from the ticket office itself, either in person, over the phone, or online.