The Government is poised to outlaw the resale of live event tickets for profit. Officials are preparing to unveil measures to combat scalpers and secondary ticketing platforms that sell tickets well above their original price.
The Labour manifesto had pledged to enhance safeguards against consumers falling victim to scams or being priced out of events by scalpers who use automated bots to snatch up tickets in bulk upon release, only to resell them at exorbitant prices on resale websites.
Initial discussions considered capping resale prices at a maximum of 30% above face value, but recent reports from the Guardian and Financial Times suggest that ministers are leaning towards setting the cap at face value, with the possibility of additional fees on top of that amount.
The Government has refrained from commenting on these reports. The potential announcement, expected on Wednesday, comes after prominent music figures like Coldplay, Dua Lipa, and Radiohead advocated for cost reductions for fans. Artists such as The Cure’s Robert Smith, New Order, and Iron Maiden, among others, have called for a price cap to restore trust in the ticketing system and make arts events more accessible to the public.
Various entities, including Which?, FanFair Alliance, O2, and industry representatives, have endorsed the move to cap resale prices to combat professional scalpers and ensure tickets reach genuine fans at fair prices.
Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, expressed support for the Government’s initiative to ban ticket resale above face value, emphasizing the importance of keeping live events accessible to fans.
However, StubHub cautioned that imposing a price cap could drive ticket transactions towards black markets, raising concerns about potential fraud and consumer protection issues.
In response, a Viagogo spokesperson pointed to past failures of price caps in other countries, citing increased fraud rates as consumers turn to unregulated ticketing platforms.