UK Government to Ban Profiteering in Ticket Resales, Capping Prices at Face Value
New legislation will forbid reselling event tickets for more than their original price and hold resale platforms legally liable for breaches.
The UK government is poised to outlaw the resale of event tickets at a markup, meaning that anyone selling a ticket will only be permitted to charge the original face value rather than turning a profit.
The move is part of a long-promised crackdown on professional touts and resale sites such as Viagogo and StubHub.
Under the draft legislation, resale platforms may continue to charge service fees on top of face-value resale, but those fees will be capped to prevent offsetting losses from the ban on mark-ups.
Anyone reselling tickets will also be prohibited from offering more tickets than they were permitted to purchase originally under the box office rules, a measure designed to curb industrial-scale trading.
The decision follows pressure from leading artists – including Coldplay, Dua Lipa and Radiohead – who urged the government to follow through on its election pledge to end exploitative ticket-resale practices.
In recent investigations, tickets for major events were found listed at thousands of pounds above their initial price, and consumer-group research estimated fans lose up to £145 million each year as a result.
Regulated platforms will be held legally responsible if sellers using their service violate the rules, and the Competition and Markets Authority will enforce compliance.
The government has ruled out introducing a licensing system for resale companies.
The ban will also apply to resales facilitated via social-media channels, which industry groups say have often been used to bypass regulation and defraud fans.
Secondary-ticketing firms have warned the rules could push resale activity into unregulated markets and increase the risk of fraud.
Shares in StubHub-parent StubHub Holdings dropped 10 per cent in response to the announcement.
The full policy is expected to feature in the next King’s Speech.
While the legislation is still subject to parliamentary process, the government signalled the shift would reshape the UK’s live-events resale market by prioritising fan access and fair pricing rather than unchecked mark-ups.
The move is part of a long-promised crackdown on professional touts and resale sites such as Viagogo and StubHub.
Under the draft legislation, resale platforms may continue to charge service fees on top of face-value resale, but those fees will be capped to prevent offsetting losses from the ban on mark-ups.
Anyone reselling tickets will also be prohibited from offering more tickets than they were permitted to purchase originally under the box office rules, a measure designed to curb industrial-scale trading.
The decision follows pressure from leading artists – including Coldplay, Dua Lipa and Radiohead – who urged the government to follow through on its election pledge to end exploitative ticket-resale practices.
In recent investigations, tickets for major events were found listed at thousands of pounds above their initial price, and consumer-group research estimated fans lose up to £145 million each year as a result.
Regulated platforms will be held legally responsible if sellers using their service violate the rules, and the Competition and Markets Authority will enforce compliance.
The government has ruled out introducing a licensing system for resale companies.
The ban will also apply to resales facilitated via social-media channels, which industry groups say have often been used to bypass regulation and defraud fans.
Secondary-ticketing firms have warned the rules could push resale activity into unregulated markets and increase the risk of fraud.
Shares in StubHub-parent StubHub Holdings dropped 10 per cent in response to the announcement.
The full policy is expected to feature in the next King’s Speech.
While the legislation is still subject to parliamentary process, the government signalled the shift would reshape the UK’s live-events resale market by prioritising fan access and fair pricing rather than unchecked mark-ups.
