The UK government on Wednesday unveiled plans to ban the resale of tickets for concerts, sports events, and other shows at prices above their original face value, targeting touts who profit from inflated prices.
Resale platforms and ticket scalpers often list tickets at massive mark-ups, drawing widespread criticism from fans and the music industry alike.
The issue gained particular attention after public outrage over the high cost of tickets for the British leg of Britpop band Oasis’s reunion tour this year.
“The UK is home to an incredible array of music, entertainers, and sporting stars — but when fans are shut out, it only benefits the touts,” Business Secretary Peter Kyle said in a statement.
“That’s why we’re taking bold measures to break their model and ensure more fans can see their favourite stars at fair prices.”
The ruling Labour party, elected in July 2024, had promised to introduce consumer protections in its election manifesto.
“For too long, ticket touts have exploited fans, using bots to grab large batches of tickets and resell them at exorbitant prices,” Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said. “They’ve created a shadow industry on resale sites, operating without consequence. These changes will benefit fans across music, theatre, comedy, and more.”
A recent investigation by consumer group Which? revealed that some tickets to Oasis at London’s Wembley Stadium were being listed for more than £4,000 ($5,200) on the resale platform Viagogo.
Under the government’s proposals, resale platforms will face capped service fees, and individuals will be prohibited from reselling more tickets than they were initially entitled to buy. Officials estimate these measures could save fans around £112 million annually, reducing the average resale price by £37.
British music stars including Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Radiohead, Sam Fender, and Iron Maiden recently signed a joint statement calling for swift legislation to cap resale prices.
However, resale platforms have pushed back against the new rules. Viagogo and StubHub International, whose business relies heavily on the secondary market, warned that the regulations could push fans toward unregulated sites.
Black market
"With a price cap on regulated marketplaces, ticket transactions will move to black markets," said a spokesperson for StubHub International.
"When a regulated market becomes a black market, only bad things happen for consumers," the spokesperson added.
A Viagogo spokesperson said that in countries with price caps, including Ireland and Australia, "fraud rates are nearly four times higher than in the UK".
Viagogo also argued that the proposal would strengthen the dominance of US ticket sales giant Ticketmaster, limiting competition.
"Ticketmaster already limits all resale in the UK to face value prices, and this is another major step forward for fans," its parent company Live Nation said in a statement.
Companies that break the new rules could face fines of up to 10 percent of their global turnover, said the UK's competition watchdog.
The Competition and Markets Authority on Tuesday opened investigations into transparency issues in Viagogo and StubHub's fees.
The uncapped resale market takes "money out of the hands of fans and into the hands of just a few touts," Dougie Brown, policy manager at industry group UK Music told AFP, describing it as a "huge problem."
He said that the new rules would "make a massive difference to fans across the country."
The government plans to also tackle "dynamic pricing", where prices are adjusted in real time in line with demand.
Resellers will be required to give fans 24 hours notice of tiered prices and provide clearer price information during online queues.
The reforms aim to end misleading ticket labels, after Oasis fans complained that Ticketmaster had sold so-called platinum tickets at an extra cost that offered no additional benefits.
