The UK is to ban the resale of tickets for profit for concerts, sport and other live events in a major shake-up of the secondary ticketing market.
British Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said ticket touts have been exploiting fans by using bots to buy up large numbers of tickets for high-demand shows and then relisting them at inflated prices.
Under the plans, it will be illegal to resell a ticket above its face value, defined as the original ticket price plus any unavoidable fees charged at the point of purchase. Service fees on resale platforms will also be capped so that companies cannot get around the new rules by loading extra costs onto buyers.
The ban will cover any platform reselling tickets to UK fans, including secondary ticketing sites and social media. Companies that break the regulations could face penalties of up to 10% of their global turnover.
The move follows years of anger from music and sports fans who have seen tickets for tours by artists such as Harry Styles, Taylor Swift and Oasis appear on resale sites at several times face value within minutes of selling out on primary platforms.
Campaigners have also highlighted the use of sophisticated automated bots that can beat online queues and lock ordinary fans out of the initial sale.
Shares in US company StubHub, which owns resale platform Viagogo, fell by around 14% after reports of the government's plan. Viagogo criticised the approach, arguing that tighter price controls in other countries had pushed some sales onto less regulated sites and claiming that fraud rates in markets such as Ireland and Australia are higher than in the UK.
In Ireland, the resale of tickets above face value is prohibited under the Sale of Tickets Act 2021 for events or venues that fall under the scope of the law. This usually includes larger venues and high-demand events where resale at inflated prices is a known risk. Once covered, it is illegal for secondary sellers to advertise or sell tickets above the original price. There are limited exemptions for registered charities and amateur sports clubs. Breaches can lead to fines of up to €100,000 or a prison term of up to two years.
The UK government’s consultation on ticketing reform cited Ireland as one of the countries that already restricts resale prices, as it considered how far to go with its own crackdown on touting.
Source: Reuters
