worth of resale tickets to be capped under plans to tackle touts

The government has announced plans to cap the worth of resale tickets in a clamp-down on ticket touts who bulk buy tickets and then resell them for huge profits.

The cap would apply to tickets in the live events industry including sport, music, comedy and theatre.

It was one of the government’s election promises, after complaints from fans and concert-goers about the massively inflated expense of some resale tickets.

A community consultation will now be launched to consider the cap and how much it will be – anywhere from the ticket’s face worth or up to 30% on top of the original worth.

Separately, the government is also putting out a call for evidence on dynamic pricing, which is where the worth of tickets rise at times of high demand.

Hundreds of people complained after experiencing dynamic pricing when Oasis tickets went on sale last August, with some fans charged more than £350 for tickets with an initial face worth of £150.

According to analysis by the Competition and trade Authority (CMA), tickets sold on the resale trade are typically marked up by more than 50%.

Investigations by buying and selling Standards have uncovered evidence of tickets being resold for up to six times their original expense.

Fans for music artists including Coldplay and Taylor Swift have complained that minutes after tickets to their concerts sold out, resale tickets were listed online for thousands of pounds.

The government says its consultation will seek views on capping resale prices on a range, from the original worth to up to a 30% uplift.

Ministers are also proposing limiting the number of tickets that resellers can sell, to the maximum they are allowed to purchase in the original ticket sale.

They also desire to make recent legal obligations for ticket resale websites and apps to oversee the accuracy of information they provide to fans – with buying and selling Standards and the Competition and Marketing Authority responsible for enforcement.

population Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “We are taking action to strengthen customer protections, stop fans getting ripped off and ensure money spent on tickets goes back into our incredible live events sector, instead of into the pockets of greedy touts.”

Alongside the consultation, ministers have launched a call for evidence into dynamic pricing – which is says is often used to sell unsold tickets with lower prices but has meant some customers have been caught out paying higher prices for high-demand events.

“The call for evidence will seek views on how the ticketing structure in the live events sector is working for fans and whether the current structure provides sufficient protection from unfair practices,” the governments aid.

Last year, Oasis fans were asked to pay as much as £350 per ticket, around £200 more than had been advertised, due to demand.

Previously, Noel and Liam Gallagher said they had not been aware that dynamic pricing would be used for their UK stadium shows next summer – but acknowledged that the roll out of the tickets had not gone as planned.

Ticketmaster has said it does not set prices and that it is down to the “occurrence organiser” who “has priced these tickets according to their trade worth”.

Ticket resale sites have previously defended their services, with Viagogo saying its site ensures resales are “a secure, secure deal”.

Viagogo’s boss previously told the BBC lots of fans actually prefer buying on Viagogo instead of buying tickets direct.

“They don’t desire to be forced to get up on Friday morning and wait in a queue that may or may not happen,” he says.

In a statement, Viagogo said it would “continue to constructively engage with the government”.

It added that it will “look forward to responding in packed to the consultation and call for evidence on improving customer protections in the ticketing trade”.

Meanwhile, Ticketmaster said it would back a cap on the reselling of tickets.

“Since 2018, our resale has been capped at face worth, providing fans a secure place to sell tickets they can’t use at the original worth set by artists and occurrence organisers,” it said.

“We back proposals to introduce an industry-wide resale worth cap. We also urge the government to crack down on bots and ban speculative ticket sales.”

Campaigners and music artists have welcomed the consultation. UK Music, which represents the UK’s music industry, said it wanted a “obvious worth cap”.

Musician and DJ Fatboy Slim gave his backing to the government’s proposals, saying it was “great to view money being put back into fans’ pockets instead of resellers”.

Labour’s Sharon Hodgson, the MP who chairs the all-event parliamentary throng on ticket abuse and has been campaigning for 15 years on the issue, also welcomed the government’s proposal.

“I aspiration all those who have been affected by the inflated prices, speculative ticket selling or fallen victim to scams that are prolific within the secondary trade will get involved in this consultation,” she said.

FanFair Alliance, a campaign throng that was set up against ticket touts, called the measures “potentially game-changing”.

It pointed to other countries – such as Ireland which banned ticket touting in 2021 – saying it shows “how legislation to prevent the resale of tickets for returns can massively curb the illegal and anti-customer practices of online ticket touts and offshore resale platforms. The UK simply needs to pursue their example”.