VANCOUVER - The vast majority of British Columbians consulted by the provincial government say they want "scalper bots" banned from snatching up event tickets online and reselling them to music and sports fans at exorbitant prices.

The ministry of the solicitor general says in a report released today that 6,500 people responded to its questionnaire, which will inform Minister Mike Farnworth's decisions as he moves to regulate the ticket selling industry.

Of those, 97 per cent said they want a ban on the use of bots, which use algorithms to bypass limits on the number of tickets one person can buy online.

And 83 per cent said they support setting a price limit on resold tickets.

About one in 10 respondents who reported buying tickets through a secondary seller said they were unable to get into the event, and of those, only 16 per cent were successful in receiving a refund from the secondary seller.

In Ontario, legislation banning "scalper bots" that bypass limits on the number of tickets one person can buy came into effect on Jan. 1. The law also limits resale prices to 50 per cent above face value.