Government amendments to the bill, part of preparation for Asian World Cup and Cricket Council World Cup fixtures from 2015, will see ticketing provisions only used where required by event organisers.

Legislative Assembly members agreed in principle to the proposed laws on Tuesday and will consider the amended bill in detail next week.

Mr Corbell said the amendments will require the relevant minister to be satisfied on reasonable grounds that the ticketing protections are necessary for individual events.

The minister would also be required to consider likely demand and availability of tickets to the public, as well as if an event organiser is providing transparent information about tickets.

The amendments follow concern about the laws raised by online ticket reselling businesses with the government and opposition in recent weeks.

"Only in very limited circumstances would there be sufficient grounds to arrest a person engaging in ticket-scalping activities," Mr Corbell said.

"Given the nature of the ticketing offences, the likelihood that police would arrest an alleged offender is remote."

The proposed laws would help meet government guarantees included in major events contracts, including through search powers for police and security and commercial provisions, and will see the ACT draw on laws in place in New Zealand, Victoria and New South Wales.

Anyone found reselling or trading tickets for "substantial gain" or receiving financial benefits without permission of event organisers faces prosecution, and some ticket giveaways in lotteries or competitions or as part of the sale or trade of other goods would be banned.

Acknowledging some aspects of the bill would impact on individual's human rights, Mr Corbell said public declarations of major events by the minister, including advertisements in daily newspapers, would put attendees on notice of the conditions of their entry.

He said tougher search and crowd control powers would kept under review, and likened the need for special laws at major events to security in airports.

"The Bill helps promote the ACT nationally and internationally as a welcoming place to visit, live, study and invest," Mr Corbell said.

"Provisions in the bill allow the intellectual property and other commercial rights of sponsors to be protected, ensuring the ACT is competitive when bidding to host major events."

Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson said security and crowd control provisions, and some aspects of anti-scalping measures, would put the ACT "at odds with New South Wales".

Last week legislation considering fair trading provisions in ticket reselling was referred to a New South Wales Parliament committee for review.

Mr Hanson questioned the need for new ACT regulations around scalping of tickets – the reselling for inflated prices. He said owners should be able to sell their possessions in a free market and the new laws could drive sellers back to the black market.

"It is arguable that there should not be any further regulation in this area but that there should be a policy response where government works with industry to protect consumers and event organisers," Mr Hanson said.

"We don't want to see major resources including police diverted into an area where we've had a Senate committee say isn't a significant problem outside a few events."

Mr Hanson said the Opposition would monitor the laws to make sure they are not being used for the management of existing Canberra sporting fixtures, including Raiders and Brumbies games.