UK Moves to Ban Ticket Resales For Profit
The UK government is gearing up to ban the resale of live event tickets for more than their original price, a major step aimed at shutting down the long-running problem of ticket touting. The plan would stop people from snapping up tickets and immediately reselling them at huge mark-ups for concerts, theatre, comedy and major sporting events.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said fans have been paying "through the nose" thanks to touts using increasingly sophisticated tools, adding the government is "committed to ending the scandal of ticket touts". Ministers are expected to roll out the full details within days.
A previous consultation floated a 30% cap on resale prices, but officials have now settled on limiting resales strictly to the ticket’s “original cost” and will also cap platform fees so sellers can’t sidestep the price limit. According to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the new rules would make the “business model of industrial-scale ticket touting” unworkable and could save fans more than £100m a year.
Artists have also been pushing for action. Dozens of big names — including Sam Fender, Dua Lipa and Coldplay — recently urged the prime minister to stop what they described as “extortionate and pernicious” practices that are hurting fans. Supporting groups like the Football Supporters’ Association and Which? have also joined the call to stop ticket touting.
The scale of the problem has been obvious for years. Fans often watch tickets vanish within seconds, only to reappear at shocking prices. For example, seats for Radiohead’s upcoming London show were listed on resale sites for hundreds of pounds — far above official prices. Oasis reunion tickets earlier this year hit eye-watering levels, with some found for more than £4,000.
Some resale sites already impose face-value limits, but others continue to allow huge markups. StubHub International warned that strict caps would "condemn fans to take risks" by driving them to unregulated sites, adding, "When a regulated market becomes a black market, only bad things happen for consumers. Fraud, fear, and zero recourse." Viagogo echoed those concerns, saying caps abroad have "repeatedly failed fans" and increase fraud.
The crackdown comes as the Competition and Markets Authority opens separate investigations into pricing practices at several platforms, including StubHub and Viagogo, over concerns like hidden fees and the use of bots.
Despite resistance from resale platforms, the government says the new rules are essential to restore fairness for fans — and after months of waiting since the consultation closed, an official announcement is expected soon.
