LONDON: The UK government is preparing to introduce a sweeping ban on the resale of live event tickets above their original face value, in a major crackdown on touts and secondary ticketing platforms.
Ministers are expected to set out the new measures this week, aiming to curb a system that has enabled tickets for concerts, festivals and sporting events to be sold at several times their original cost.
The policy aligns with Labour’s manifesto commitment to strengthen consumer protections and prevent fans from being priced out of events or falling victim to scams.
Ticket touts frequently use automated bots to bulk-purchase tickets the moment they go on sale, before reselling them for significant mark-ups online.
A previous consultation had explored allowing resales at up to 30% above face value, but reports from The Guardian and Financial Times suggest that the government now intends to cap resale prices strictly at face value, although service or platform fees may still be added.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport declined immediate comment, but an announcement is expected as soon as Wednesday.
The policy shift follows mounting pressure from some of the world’s biggest music acts. Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Radiohead, Iron Maiden, PJ Harvey, New Order, The Cure’s Robert Smith, Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender and others recently signed a joint statement urging the government to introduce a price cap to “restore faith in the ticketing system and “help democratize access to the arts.
Consumer watchdog Which, the FanFair Alliance, O2, the Football Supporters’ Association, theatre groups, promoters and venue operators also backed the proposal.
Rocio Concha, Which?’s director of policy and advocacy, described the plan as “great news for music and sports fans”, arguing that a face-value cap plus fees would “rein in professional touts and put tickets back in the hands of real fans”.
She added that the government must embed the measure into legislation through the King’s Speech to ensure it becomes a long-term consumer protection framework.
Live Nation Entertainment, parent company of Ticketmaster, has voiced full support for the plan. The company noted that Ticketmaster already restricts resales to face-value pricing in the UK, calling the move “another major step forward for fans”.
But not everyone in the industry is on board.
Secondary resale platform StubHub warned that banning above-face-value resales could push buyers and sellers into black-market channels, increasing fraud risks.
A StubHub International spokesperson argued that similar caps in countries such as Ireland and Australia had failed fans, claiming that fraud rates in those countries are significantly higher than in the UK.
Rival platform Viagogo echoed the concerns, stating that evidence shows caps tend to drive consumers towards unregulated markets where safety and accountability are limited.
If implemented, the new rules would mark one of the toughest regulatory interventions in the UK ticketing market in recent years.
Supporters say the policy will help protect fans and make live entertainment more accessible. Critics warn it could have unintended consequences by pushing transactions underground.
Further details are expected when ministers formally unveil the proposal later this week.
