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UK Government Confirms Plan to Ban Ticket Resale Above Face Value
November19
The UK government is set to move forward with plans to ban the resale of tickets for profit, introducing strict new rules aimed at tackling large-scale touting and inflated secondary market pricing.
The announcement, expected today, follows a consultation on ticketing reform that included proposals for a price cap in the secondary market. Ministers have opted for the strongest option: limiting all resale to the original face value.
The Labour government committed to addressing ticket touting in its election manifesto. Last month, Creative Industries Minister Ian Murray confirmed the intention to proceed, and recent pressure from artists including Dua Lipa, Coldplay and Sam Fender added momentum to the policy.
Secondary ticketing platforms will be legally required to enforce the new rules, including monitoring listings and preventing individuals from reselling more tickets than they were allowed to buy at primary sale.
According to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the measures aim to curb automated bulk-buying and inflated resale prices that have “caused misery for millions of fans and damaged the live events industry.”
Industry reactions have been swift.
Live Nation/Ticketmaster welcomed the move, noting that Ticketmaster already restricts UK resale to face value. “This is another major step forward for fans,” the company said, calling on other markets to adopt similar measures.
Viagogo raised concerns, arguing that price caps in other countries have pushed consumers toward unregulated channels with higher fraud risks.
A timetable for introducing the legislation in Parliament has not yet been confirmed.
Separately, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched investigations into eight businesses over pricing practices such as drip fees, misleading time-limited offers and opt-in charges. StubHub and Viagogo are among the firms under scrutiny under the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said the regulator will take “swift action” where it suspects breaches of consumer law.
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