AN SNP MP will present a bill to Parliament today aiming to ban the unfair issue of scalping in the video games marketplace.

Douglas Chapman will present a Ten Minute Rule Bill, which argues for legislation to be put in place to prohibit the automated purchase and re-sale of games consoles and computer components, for connected purposes.

Chapman said: “Banning the bots will make a huge impact on bad cyber practice and consumer rights. The secondary re-sale market, where automated bots swoop in and bulk buy coveted items online, such as games consoles in this instance, for re-sale at hugely inflated prices is worth billions in revenue to these unscrupulous practitioners.

“In this online Wild West, it is the consumer who suffers, made to pay over the odds for their desired goods, or to go without an eagerly anticipated next generation console.

“Scalpers have all the advantage; they hold all the cards and can currently act with impunity making huge profits in the process. Consumers are abandoned in the process with no protection. We must look to the law to address this imbalance of power.”

With the support of MPs in his own party and across the House, Chapman’s bill proposes that the Government adopts similar successful legislation to that brought in to tackle ticket touting.

A similar legislative process could be put in place to ensure that consumers can purchase gaming consoles and computer components at no more that the Manufacturer’s Recommended Price, and that re-sale of goods purchased by automated bots be made illegal.