Facial recognition could be your new ticket to the footy

AFL clubs explore facial recognition as new ticketing method Tue 28 Jul 2026 at 6:00am In short: Facial recognition technology (FRT) is being rolled out in Australia as an alternative to digital or paper tickets for live events. The Geelong Football Club has made it available to its members, while technology provider Wicket says it is in "active discussions" with other AFL clubs. What's next? Experts are concerned about how the collected biometric data could be used and whether it opens the door for broader uses of FRT. Your face could be your next big ticket. With a scan of it, you could be granted entry to AFL games, concerts or even conferences. Facial recognition technology (FRT), which has been used instead of digital or paper tickets in places like the United States for NFL games and college sports, is expanding in Australia. It is being explored by AFL clubs, having already been an option at the Australian Open since 2024 through Ticketmaster. When asked for their thoughts on the technology, football fans had mixed opinions. "I think it'd be great, a lot quicker." "I don't like the thought of my face being recorded for every occasion if I was going to something." "That's the way technology is going, so I'm OK with that." "People know who you are anyway." "Who has that sort of information and how long are they going to hold onto it?" "You've got facial recognition on other apps ... so it shouldn't be a big deal." American company Wicket, which owns the technology being used in Australia, said it helped tackle congestion at event entry points by making them quicker. Chief operating officer Jeff Boehm said every NFL team in the US used FRT for some form of entry, including entry of staff or credentialed individuals. "I think ultimately it [will] become the primary way that people will gain access to venues,"he said. Ticketmaster said it was up to a venue if it wanted to use the technology, and it was not used to track people inside the venue. The future has arrived Wicket provides the Geelong Football Club with the technology for its home stadium, Kardinia Park, or GMHBA Stadium. It said it was also in active discussions with "three to four" other AFL clubs, and had plans to expand its use into other live events, like concerts. Geelong Cats members can opt in to use facial authentication at one of three "express entry" lanes. It works by first linking a club membership to Ticketmaster, and then providing a selfie and an email address. That information is then used for authentication for the remainder of the season. Wicket said the image was reproduced as a mathematical representation that was then captured and stored. The data is deleted at the end of the season, according to the club's website. "The technology is used solely to verify a valid ticket for entry, and member data is securely managed by our technology partner, Wicket," a Geelong Cats spokesperson said. The club incentivises signing up for the technology by offering "Cats Points" for its loyalty program in return. It plans to continue offering it next season after receiving positive feedback from members, and will review opportunities to expand its use if demand increases. "We're always looking for ways to enhance the match day experience for our members, and the introduction of our Express Member's Lane is an example of that," the club said. Loyalty under question University of Technology Sydney responsible technology policy expert Lauren Perry said if companies offered rewards in exchange for biometric data, it meant user consent was not genuine. "Under the Australian Privacy Act, in order to use facial recognition, you do need that consent," she said. "If the technology is linked to these other incentives, then actually there is a little bit of coercion that's happening there." The Geelong Cats said the initiative was "entirely opt-in". "Members can choose whether they participate and can opt out at any time," a spokesperson said. Biometric templates and information are classified as sensitive information under the Privacy Act 1988, and have a higher level of privacy protection than other kinds of personal information. While the ticketing industry believes it is the next frontier for Australian live events, Ms Perry is concerned it could open the door to other uses of the data. She said biometric data was valuable for all kinds of entities for multiple purposes, including marketing. "Personal information is really, really valuable and the more companies that have access to it, the more insights they can glean from individuals," she said. "When companies are encouraging these opt-in processes through facial recognition technology, that often means that the individual customer or patron is the product themselves." What happens to the data? Wicket said neither it or its ticketing partners owned the data. "That venue or that team, whoever purchased the technology from us, they own that data and it's up to them as to how long they keep that data and what they do with it," Mr Boehm said. Ms Perry said this opened the door for it to be used for other things later down the line, known as "scope creep". "I've heard a lot of people say, 'I have nothing to hide, all of my information is out there on the internet anyway, why would I be concerned about this?'" she said. "But what a lot of people don't realise is that companies can use this sensitive information in ways that disadvantage or even harm us later down the line." Mr Boehm said the product Wicket was offering would need to be changed significantly to be used for security or surveillance uses. "We are not creating a centralised database of fan data that we're monetising and selling on to other people," he said. While the technology is still gaining ground in Australia, if the widespread use of facial ticketing in the US is anything to go by, Australia is set to see a new wave of the technology enter everyday use.