Music fans across Canada are frequently ticked off when they can't purchase tickets to see their favourite performers.

It happens because ticket-purchasing software, known as bots, snap up the best seats, which are resold for a whopping profit.

A new Angus Reid Institute poll shows that 76 percent of respondents think this is a "huge problem".

Eighty-one percent expressed support for this statement: "Make it illegal to use bots to purchase tickets, and punish offenders with fines or jail time."

More than three-quarters of respondents (77 percent) said that if ticket reselling wasn't banned, there should be legislated limits on the amount of tickets that can be resold.

Among those polled, 23 percent stated that they have used the services of a reseller, such as SeatGeek or StubHub.

It's been reported that last summer, two-thirds of the tickets to the Tragically Hip's final tour were bought by scalpers.

The poll was based on an online survey of 1,517 Canadians. According to the Angus Reid Institute, the results are accurate within a plus or minus margin of 2.5 percent, 19 times out of 20. 

Nearly half the respondents stated that they buy one or two tickets a year and 27 percent stated that they never bought tickets.

Sixteen percent bought three to five tickets per year, and another eight percent said that they bought more than five tickets a year.

In 2015, the Ontario government amended its Ticket Speculation Act to allow sales at prices above the original price paid. It's seeking public input as it prepares to amend the legislation.

Shortly before leaving office, U.S. president Barack Obama signed a federal bill making it illegal for bots to buy tickets.